The first Second Friday is only the beginning
Second Friday at Mesa Community College held its first event on the evening of Sept. 13 at the Southern and Dobson campus, raising money for student organizations.
The MCC DJ team Club Thunder built a nightclub event that partnered with the MCC Art Department and other music groups, such as the Jam Club and local band, Opaic. The event also hosted vendors, such as a henna tattoo artist and two food trucks.
Club Thunder took over the Navajo room, which is normally a meeting place and conference space, and turned it into a nightclub for the evening.
Using music fed through speakers, fog machines and lights that each DJ wirelessly controlled with a foot pedal, students put together everything needed to make a real-life nightclub experience, according to James Gaspar, the DJ team coordinator.
“The students did everything. We took the Navajo room, which is pretty standard. They do have a stage there, but we really transformed the room,” Gaspar said.
“We set up lighting all throughout the room. It took us about four hours to set up the sound system and lighting and really kind of get everything set up,” Gaspar added.
The DJ team raised $143 through admission charges, and by selling glow sticks and drinks.
“While that number seems very small, you have to remember that we were only charging a dollar for a drink and one dollar for admission, and two dollars for nonstudents,” Gaspar added.
Outside of the Navajo room, there were about three different art booths with paintings, drawings, stickers, earrings and varying art projects for sale made by MCC students.
Mercedes Kim, a Fine Arts major with an emphasis in painting and drawing, was inside selling magnets, paintings and a paint-by-numbers craft. She explained how she found out about the event.
“I got an email from one of my art instructors. She’s really invested in kind of getting us to get more involved more on the professional side. And so when she sent it out, I was already getting ready to do an online store,” Kim recalled.
“Fortunately, because I got that email like three, four days ago, I had all this stuff prepped that I was gonna start selling,” Kim added.
She also said that she wanted to price her artwork at a fair but accessible level for the event.
“I started art because I couldn’t afford some of the arts that I wanted. So that’s how I got into it. I wanted to just kind of keep it as accessible as possible,” she explained.
Another art booth run by MCC student Cassidy Gregory and graduate Emily Barkdull, featured jewelry, stickers and other artwork for sale.
“I kind of take this as a practice round because I want to vend at larger events that happen around town. And I like being on campus. I like engaging in the stuff on campus,” Barkdull said.
They plan to return to the next Second Friday in October, which they found out about when Gaspar asked Gregory to help design the promotional flyers.
As for this first one, Gregory and Barkdall said they expected a low turnout, but the sellers explained they still have hope for the event to grow.
Gaspar had similar hopes and plans for the next Second Friday to be an outdoor event with even more student clubs wanting to join.
“That’s just the first one. What we saw was the potential of it. We saw what it is capable of becoming. Once we get people to really see it in person and come in person, they’re going to get it, and this is going to be something really big,” Gaspar stated.
