Over 300 students danced the night away at the Amway Grand formal downtown on Saturday night, March 4. In addition to a mashed potato bar, casino games and a dance floor, a live band entertained the crowd for the first hour of the event.

The band, “The Manhattan Project” is composed of Calvin students sophomores Sam Mann and Cory Greeno, juniors Royce Lloyd and Joe Joel and Parker Dewitt.

Weekend programming approached the Pop Music Guild three days before the formal looking for a band to perform at the event. A different band was originally slotted to perform, but the time crunch was going to be too difficult to manage.

“I mean, we’re a younger band, but we can step it up. We can do that,” said lead vocalist Mann. “We worked really hard. We’ve had a long three days but we pulled that kinda out of nowhere.”

The work was worth it, according to guitarist Greeno: “This is by far the biggest concert we’ve had. We’ve had some private concerts of about 40-50 people, we’ve played a couple times in the Fish House.”

“This is definitely a lot more people,” echoed Mann. “And a very swanky place.”

The band was a hit with students, such as first-year student Emily Mulcock: “I really loved the live band at the beginning. I wish they had played longer. I didn’t get enough time to dance to them.”

The event sold 335 tickets, which included both pre-sale and at-the-door sales. The crowd of attendees included a mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen alike.

Reitsma Mpindi, student senator and weekend programming intern, explained that marketing events to upperclass students is “a challenge.” Upperclass students usually live off campus and have more of an opportunity to explore on their own, Mpindi said. Because of this, formals end up being “traditionally more underclassmen-friendly.”

“[However], what we experienced this year is that there was a decent upperclassmen turnout,” continued Mpindi. “The class of 2017 is the first grade to actually have formals available every year. In the sort of way, there’s a structure that has provided that has encouraged upperclassmen to go.”

The location was carefully chosen so as to attract more upperclassmen. For junior Jessica Petrie the Amway Grand was the deciding factor in her choice to attend:

“We thought getting dressed up and coming downtown for the night, seeing some friends here … would be fun,” she said. However, she continued, saying that if the formal had been held on campus she would not have considered attending at all.

Junior Morgan Quist echoed the sentiment, calling the formal “a good opportunity to get out of the Calvin bubble and get to know Grand Rapids a little better” but would not have attended if not for the location.

“I love dancing, and dressing up. This is my senior year, so this is my last chance.” said Colleen Beunk. She also appreciated the location: “This is really classy, I mean, you’re at the Amway.”

“It’s really fun, I really enjoy dances and dressing up, and the place is beautiful,” added junior Priscilla Fuentes.

Though the off-campus location drew upperclass students, it did present more complications as far as transportation and cost for others.

“There are some assumptions that are being made when you host an event out here, particularly in this building,” said student body president senior Bill Warners. “You’re assuming students have the transportation to be here, you’re assuming they have the clothing. You’re assuming they can find cheap parking here.”

Warners continued: “It’s nice to feel fancy, but if this was on campus a lot of those assumptions wouldn’t have to be made and might be easier for students who can only afford five dollars to be here.”

“As a student senator and as a weekend programming intern, my job consists of trying to find ways to connect the Calvin community,” said Mpindi. Mpindi takes pride in his work, saying he was glad to be “providing the opportunity for Calvin students to explore downtown, and to explore one of the most famous buildings in our fair city.”

Despite Warners’ worries, underclass students seemed to enjoy the off-campus excursion.

“Any chance you get to come downtown, you learn something new about it,” said Mulcock.

“So many of us might not have cars and we don’t often get the chance to come and explore downtown,” said sophomore Anna Henson. “So this kinda forces us to get down here and see where things are.”

Beunk agreed, saying, “When I was an underclassman, things like this were a really great way to get out in the city.”

In addition to being a way to allow students to explore downtown Grand Rapids, the formal itself had plenty to keep attendees engaged, whether it be the mashed potato bar or the dance floor.