Shocktoberfest will make its annual return to the Wichita State campus next week with themes built around the 1996 American live-action/animated sports family/comedy film “Space Jam.” Sponsored by Student Activities Council and other Student Involvement committees, Shocktoberfest events begin Saturday, Oct. 18, and will last one week.

“The Space Jam theme came from the idea that Michael Jordan’s number for the longest time was No. 23, and this is the 23rd annual Shocktoberfest,” said Logan Pohl, the campus traditions chair at Student Activities Council. “It was such an iconic movie.”

Hunger Games

In addition to the usual Shocktoberfest favorites – Trunk or Treat, Breakfast with Bardo and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to name a few – students can also participate in Hunger Games, which, happily, does not involve archery, reapings or the overthrow of a totalitarian regime.

The event will be a competition among student organizations to collect canned food and hygiene products, and to create the largest “cornucopia” of goods. Organizations pre-registered their “district” in early October, while teams will build their cornucopias at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Rhatigan Student Center. Donated goods will go to the United Rescue Mission.

“We decided to make it more interesting and more hip and in with the times,” said Carol Gibbons of the Community Service Board, which has teamed up with SAC for the drive. “The name is going to capture attention. People are hungry and we’re fighting hunger.”

Prizes will be awarded to the district that collects the most goods and to the district that builds he best cornucopia.

Space Jam Songfest

Participants in this year’s Songfest – a five-minute lip-syncing and dance competition – will perform songs depicting a theme of Space Jam, while not actually performing songs from the Space Jam soundtrack. Pohl says it’s a new rule this year to spur creativity.

“It forces them to think a little outside the box,” Pohl said, “and also so that our judges wouldn’t have to hear the Space Jam soundtrack on repeat. We asked them to kind of work within the theme.”

Because of demand, Songfest will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 25, at The Orpheum Theater in downtown Wichita, marking the first time the event has been held in an off-campus location. Winners of Songfest, individual competitions and the overall trophies will be announced immediately following the event. Admission will be free for students with WSU ID and $10 for the general public.

For more information about Shocktoberfest events, visit wichita.edu/shocktoberfest.