The Union Programming Council brought a piece of Ireland to the Union Ballroom on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by hosting its annual Irish festival, O Lucky U.
“O Lucky U is not a fund-raising event,” said Scott Moffitt, director of Arts and Special Events board at UPC and a senior in biology. “It’s for students to have a free lunch, play some games and have a good time.”
At the festival, students ate traditional and famous Irish dishes, such as corned beef and cabbage and potatoes, listened to Irish music and played St. Patrick’s Day-themed games, such as “Find the Four-Leaf Clover” and “Guess the Number of Green Jelly Beans.” They were able to win prizes for the games like T-shirts or a $50 massage or a gift card to Starbucks and The Pie.
“The Arts and Special Events board tries to focus on different types of events rather than late-night parties and other traditional student events,” Moffitt said. “We do gallery strolls, celebrate holidays and different types of festivals.”
Although the music and games are fun, he said the food is the most attractive element of O Lucky U.
“We usually have a lot of people, mainly because there’s free food,” he said. “We order enough food for 350 people, and we run out every year.”
Some students agreed free food was the main reason they came.
“I’m here for the food,” said Kortnie Walker, a junior in chemistry. “It seems pretty festive, and I’ll absolutely come back next year.”
Mckay Allred, a junior in bioengineering, had similar reasons for coming.
“The festival sounded fun, and there’s free food,” he said. “I might check out the games.”