UAA Getaway

The Seawolf Sports Complex was transformed Thursday night into a warm-weather paradise for the UAA Getaway. Students and community members who attended the event were treated to a taco bar and ice cream catered by Wild Scoops. They had much to do among the club and business booths present – the henna tattoo and caricature booths being particularly popular. For live entertainment, local singer Emma Hill \performed in the main event area and DJ Spencer Lee was spinning tunes at the pool.

The event was put on by UAA Student Activities as a way to allow students to unwind during the finals crunch and relieve themselves of the dark Alaskan winter.

UAA Getaway’s main coordinator was Selma Casagranda, who said that she and her team had been planning for roughly four months to ensure that everything went smoothly and that those in attendance would enjoy themselves.

“We just really wanted it to be an event for students to be able to relax. Especially during this time of year, when it’s the darkest and coldest, we decided on a getaway theme so that people could relax and have fun,” Casagranda said during a tour of the UAA Getaway setup. 

She showed off the booths, pool decorations, pop-up massage parlor, and bungee run set up by Tons of Fun Entertainment.

To make the event a reality, “It’s honestly been a group effort,” Casagranda said – gesturing at the team of Student Activities workers bustling about.

Students appeared to be pleased with the work of Student Activities as they enjoyed their taco dinners, laughed at the caricatures drawn of themselves, admired their henna tattoos — body art drawn on with temporary dyes — and participated in contests that had $25 gift cards on the line. Contests included trivia, a Squishmallow toss, and a water chugging challenge.

Other than ice cream and Mexican food, students helped themselves to the available refreshments. Warm coffee and cans of Red Bull — both essentials for caffeine lovers during finals week — stood at the event entrance.

Overall, the UAA Getaway provided a warm Thursday night, even with all of the snow received days before. The decorations and the light-hearted conversations heard throughout the evening made you feel transported to the warm shores of the tropics.

To stay up to date on future events, be sure to follow UAA Student Activities on social media.