More than 7,300 Panthers took over the Marcus Amphitheater on Friday night to celebrate Pantherfest, UWM’s biggest event of the year. The eighth annual Pantherfest featured headliners Timeflies and Juicy J, who performed to a crowd of enthusiastic students and alumni.
The party started Friday afternoon with the Panther Street Festival at the UWM fountain. There, students sampled food from Milwaukee-area vendors, tried their hand at mini golf, listened to local DJs, got a caricature drawing or henna tattoo, in addition to many more activities. Shuttles then transported Pantherfest attendees to the amphitheater grounds.
Openers included Pantherfest veteran and Milwaukee DJ Poizon Ivy, whose energetic beats got students grooving early. Up next was Milwaukee’s Kane Place Record Club, getting students pumped for the opening acts.
The headlining performances by Juicy J and Timeflies signaled the successful end to a months-long process that began in early summer 2014, when the artist-selection committee surveyed UWM students to gauge top genre and performer preferences. From the 8,000 responses received, the selection was narrowed down based on artist cost and availability. Both Juicy J and Timeflies were popular choices among UWM students.
“Being on the artist selection team helped me become part of the UWM family more than anything else could,” says Clinton Plowman, UWM sophomore and student co-chair of the artist-selection committee. “It’s very cool to see this event come together with students, alumni and faculty, uniting us as Panthers.”
Both Timeflies and Juicy J surpassed expectations. Rapper Juicy J had the crowd bouncing, swaying, dancing. The hip-hop artist took selfies with the crowd, using a few lucky UWM students’ cell phones. New York-based duo Timeflies filled the amphitheater with their signature high-energy pop mix, then surprised the audience with an original freestyle rap about UWM and Milwaukee.
Pantherfest concluded UWM’s annual Fall Welcome campaign, which features activities that introduce students to and engage them with UWM, the city of Milwaukee and that this remarkable pair have to offer – academics to athletics, career opportunities to student life. Faculty, staff and students representing UWM clubs, academic resources and other campus organizations come out and get to know new and returning students during Fall Welcome.
University Recreation’s URec Fest, the Panther Tailgate, Milwaukee Boat Tours and the men’s soccer victory against DePaul hit a high note at this year’s UWM Fall Welcome.
Freshman Cory Fitzsimmons wrapped up his first Fall Welcome with Pantherfest and attended URec fest earlier in the week. “UREC was a lot of fun. We got to do a lot of different activities like the log roll and battleship. We went to the dance and that was a lot of fun. We danced through the night.”
