BY VERONICA REINER
Conestoga Students Inc. hosted its annual Patio Party and Barbecue at the newly renovated Venue restaurant at Conestoga College on Sept. 6.
The event featured games, vendors, entertainment, a live DJ and free food, as well as drinks for students of age. CSI President Aimee Calma said the purpose was “to show new students a little bit more of the space” as well as to show off the “recently renovated Venue, which now includes a full-fledged restaurant.”
Calma was happy with the turnout, saying approximately 1,400 students were in attendance. The free food enticed students to come out, and featured burgers, vegetarian burgers and hot dogs. The entertainment included a Test Your Strength hammer game, a bouncy castle race and a mini basketball game. There were plenty of vendors and even a fire truck. Brett Harrington, a second-year student in the supply chain and operations management program, attended the event and enjoyed it. “The Patio Party keeps getting better and better each year.”
Calma said the newly improved Venue has some impressive new features such as expanded hours, “there’s more programming on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Trivia Tuesday and live music on Thursdays.” While the Venue was originally just a bar, there is now a food menu which includes a variety of wraps, sandwiches, starters and salads. Service was slower than expected, but understandable since the restaurant is new and it was an extremely busy first week for staff.
At the Patio Party CSI asked for donations, with the money going toward the charity Shinerama, which is a fundraiser aimed at raising money for cystic fibrosis research.
Why Shinerama? “It’s an organization that works heavily with postsecondary institutions. For example, Laurier also works with Shinerama. It’s just something that we found works really well with college and university students.”
According to Calma, there are opportunities for students to contribute to this cause.
Other Frosh Week events included a Welcome Back Concert on Sept. 21, featuring Kardinal Official and Karl Wolff. It cost $5 a ticket, with all the proceeds going to Shinerama. Other upcoming events include the Toga Party on Sept. 28 and Polar Plunge in the springtime. Tickets for the Toga Party are available now in the CSI Service Hub in Room 2A122.
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