The Wisconsin Alumni Student Board’s 8th annual All-Campus Party will kick off Saturday, April 19 with events running through April 26.

This year’s ACP features a concert by Talib Kweli, the All-Campus Idol contest and a Wisconsin Badger football scrimmage.

According to WASB member and ACP Co-director Rochelle Affias, WASB started the campus-wide festivities in 2000.

The idea for the party began with WASB member John Jung as an alcohol alternative to “celebrate being Badgers, Wisconsin spirit, the end of the semester and spring,”Affias said.

“A lot of universities had things like [the All Campus Party] at the time, and we really didn’t,” WASB president Aleem Bakatiar said.

UW-Madison started the event as a one-day affair that was “alcohol-free, but not cost-free,” Bakatiar said, adding all events are now offered to students for free.

In the years following the first concert, WASB expanded the party into the weeklong series of events currently offered to students.

Although Jung didn’t include other student organizations in his original vision, the ACP is now sponsored by over 75 student organizations, Affias said.

Including numerous organizations in the large event is pertinent to its success because the ACP requires a great deal of manpower. “It spreads what All-Campus Party is across the campus and helps get different diverse sectors involved,” Affias said.

According to Bakatiar, WASB significantly increased fund-raising efforts for the party so additional events can be added each year.

“We allocate funds for all of the organizations to put on programs, and [this year] I think we gave away over 30 small grants,” Bakatiar said.

Additional financing came from corporate sponsors as well as ongoing support from the university and Chancellor John Wiley.

According to Affias, the ACP is successful because the university believes it is an essential program for UW-Madison students.

“It is something that really does emanate what our spirit is and affects students in a really positive light,” she said.