As we all know, roughly half of the student body here at Villanova hails from the great state of New Jersey.  Most of the 50 percent of us who do not originate from the Garden State are from Pennsylvania.  And all of us spend at least some portion of our summers down the shore. Fret not at how the first possible trip to the Point Pleasant or Ocean City is a month away, or that a Memorial Day spent at the beach isn’t even in sight.  Instead, sit back and relax, because next weekend the shore is coming to you.

Thanks to the festivities of Novafest, you won’t even have to leave campus in order to experience all the fun of the shore.  Next Saturday, April 23, spend the day on Sheehan Beach and check out the “boardwalk” and games. This Jersey Shore experience will be taking place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

During the day, there will be live music headlined by Lake Trout and Don McCloskey, with reggae band Island Breeze Trio and student band Easily Amused opening. A wide variety of summer food will also be available, including hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy and popcorn.   Many on-campus organizations are sponsoring games, ranging from Alpha Delta Pi’s Frog Bog to Kappa Delta’s Bottle Bash and Tilt-a-Troll to the yearly favorite Underwater Twister. There will even be a full arcade DDR setup on a ten foot screen presented by Villanova’s DDR club. Other games will include ring toss, star darts, and other amusements that could typically be found in a carnival or boardwalk setting. Games will even include winnable prizes. Other activities such as karaoke and henna tattoos, sponsored by Pi Beta Phi, will also be available.

A ticket system will be used to participate in the day’s activities and purchase food.  Everyone will receive 25 tickets free of charge upon arrival. Additional tickets may be purchased at a rate of ten for a dollar, with all proceeds going to the Committee to Benefit the Children of St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. Villanova’s Greater Good will be organizing the collections, as well as sponsoring skee-ball .

The tenth edition of Novafest will be the next best thing to the Jersey Shore – at least for the next few weeks, anyway – complete with games, food, and live music. It should not only prove to be a good time, but a charitable one at that.

Novafest will officially kick off on Friday, April 22 at noon when student bands take the stage outside the Oreo. Dane Cook and company will perform at 8PM in the Pavilion. The festivities will conclude Saturday night, with The Starting Line headlining the finale event.