By Madison Rosenbaum, WSU Tri-Cities intern
RICHLAND, Wash. – Grab your Captain America shields, cat ears or Doctor Who get-up and suit up as your favorite alter ego for a special cause.
The Power to the Geeks 2K Cosplay (costume play) Walk at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19, will raise awareness and funds for My Friend’s Place, a local, nonprofit homeless shelter for at-risk youth. The walk will start at Adventures Underground and end at the Fingernail stage in Howard Amon Park, where there will be activities and a barbecue provided by Country Gentleman. Costumes are encouraged, but any attire will do.
The event is hosted by students in two classes from the Washington State University Tri-Cities digital technology and culture (DTC) and fine arts programs.
The walk will champion diversity, and everyone from the community is invited to dress up as their secret self in support. The students are planning a highly interactive event to expose community members to a variety of artistic mediums to convey the message.
“This is a project that intentionally and loudly proclaims we’re a community that celebrates and supports diversity in all of its forms,” said Peter Christenson, assistant professor of fine arts. “We’re among you; we’re here; come out and play!”
The walk is a collaboration between Christenson’s DTC and Doug Gast’s fine arts courses. Both faculty members are challenging their summer students to produce an event that artistically intervenes in the community at large while giving at-risk youth a voice.
“What is really exciting about this project is that we as students are able to use the skills we have learned in our summer courses and get involved in the community to have a positive impact,” said Joe Jensen, a DTC junior working on the event.
Students will design materials and make use of several promotional media outlets, including Facebook, radio advertisements, custom posters and an exclusive website.
For more information about the event, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/1422286294712503/. To learn more about My Friend’s Place, go to http://crisis-nursery.org/index.php/latest-news/2-latest-news. Learn more about WSU Tri-Cities and its commitment to dynamic student engagement, dynamic research experiences and dynamic community engagement at http://tricity.wsu.edu.
Contacts:
Madison Rosenbaum, WSU Tri-Cities marketing and communications student intern, madison.rosenbaum@email.wsu.edu
Peter Christenson, WSU Tri-Cities assistant professor of fine arts & DTC, 509-372-7285, peter.christenson@tricity.wsu.edu