On Saturday, Mar. 24, Gamma Alpha Beta (GAB) held their 34^th Buckethead Event.
Buckethead is a campus-wide event held in the District at The Smoking Dog Pub. The goal is to raise money for Camp Kesem. The week prior to the event, pre-sales happened in The Brew for t-shirts that would ensure the buyer entrance to the event and a bucket, however individuals under 21 years of age did not receive a bucket. Everyone was encouraged to attend, and those who did not purchase a t-shirt prior to the event could still get in with a $20 admissions fee.
Transportation to the event was provided, as there were buses running from the Gerber Center to the event every 15 minutes starting at 11 a.m. and ending at 5:15 p.m.
“This year, just from pre-sales, we had like 580-ish people planning to attend, and we’re expecting probably a hundred more,” sophomore Bucket Master Jeremy Klaber said.
“We have a lot of alumni come back,” junior Austin Stoner said. “We probably had ten that came Friday night and obviously a lot more will be coming Saturday.”
As far as planning for the event goes, Klaber said, “We have three Bucket Masters—a sophomore, a junior, and a senior. We had meetings once every two weeks to check in and see how everything was going, then we’d relay all that information to the rest of the fraternity and they’d help out. A lot of work goes into putting this on—it gets pretty stressful.”
According to Klaber, the planning process includes renting a tent, getting permission to use the District, getting security and police, scheduling buses to run from the Gerber Center to the District, and t-shirt and bucket sales.
Senior Megan DeRoeck is on Camp Kesem’s Executive Board as the C.I.T Coordinator and said that the event is “really important because the GAB’s fundraise for Camp Kesem and I think last year we got around $2,000. It’s just a great way to bring Augie students and outside sources—members of the community, of the Quad Cities—to help fundraise for Camp Kesem and bring awareness to the cause, so we really appreciate everything that the GAB’s do.”
Junior Brandon Maize was at the event and said, “It’s a good time. I like it because all my friends are here–even in the snow Vikings just storm the weather. It’s definitely a good cause–something that I think everyone is behind.”
Sophomore Grace Bialobok also attended the event. She said, “It’s my first year and it’s been really fun so far. I wish it wasn’t snowing, but I think that it’s a great way to bring the whole school together.”
Junior Grace Rients said, “I think it’s really cool because it’s for charity and it’s a lot of fun. We all get to come out here and just have a lot of fun together and all the money goes to charity so it’s great. I was kinda scared because it was snowing, but I’m having a lot of fun.”
“It’s tradition. It’s been happening for 34 years now. We love it, it’s my favorite time of the year,” vice president of the GABss, Oscar Garza said.