The University of Memphis is bringing back a once highly anticipated event that went extinct.
On April 12, students will once again celebrate the Spring Fling.
The event will take place on the Alumni Mall and include an all-day music festival, a barbecue contest and a car show.
Local musicians and performers will take center stage for most of the day, along with a headline performer who has not yet been announced.
Student Government Association President Ricky Kirby believes this will be a great event to bring students together.
"The feedback I have been getting all year long is that we do not have any big events, and this will basically be a mini Memphis in May festival," Kirby said.
According to Kirby, the Spring Fling fizzled away in the late 1990s due to a change in leadership and a lack of funding that left the event off of the priority list.
SGA, Delta Vibe, the Commuter Student Association and the Student Activities Council are sponsoring the event.
"I think it will give people an attachment to the University," Kirby said. "It might even give them an incentive or push to get involved with these organizations."
Delta Vibe is in charge of choosing the music and musicians. Delta Vibe President Spenser Turney is confident the music will draw a big crowd.
"We found a great variety of different types of artists, so we hope that everyone will be able to dance to something," Turney said. "With the reach of the artists we have, it could potentially be huge."
According to Kirby, during the 1980s and 1990s, the University's Spring Fling averaged an attendance of around 6,000 to 7,000 people. He believes it was an event that should not have been taken away.
"I think we lose traditions sometimes when leadership changes in organizations and the Spring Fling is something that never should have left," he said. "It is something that used to be like homecoming."
Kirby said this year's Spring Fling could easily be as big as those in the past.
"I think that once the major artist is released people are going to be there," he said. "I think we will break the 5,000 mark."
It is possible that the Spring Fling could become an annual event again, but it will depend on the turn out of this year's event.
"We are working to make this year's event the best it can be," Turney said. "If people go crazy, I'm sure there will be more."
Kirby believes this event will benefit both the students and the University.
"This gives students a beneficial experience on campus and anytime you keep people on campus it helps with retention rates," he said.
According to Turney, not only could the Spring Fling event boost student involvement, but it could also serve as a creative and great way to get more students to come to the University of Memphis.
"The Spring Fling creates such intense promotion for the University because of its reach," he said. "Prospective students want to be a part of a campus community where Spring Fling-esque events go down. It is an excuse to get together as students and be proud of a large scale event at the University of Memphis."
