A Mifflin planning group made up of city officials, student representatives and Mifflin residents decided Sunday on “Mifflin Now, Mifflin Forever” as the theme for the 2012 Mifflin Street Block Party.
“Mifflin Now, Mifflin Forever” highlights the idea that if this year’s block party is safe, the event will continue to happen.
“If [Mifflin] goes well now, it’ll be forever,” planning group member Maria Giannopoulos said.
The Mifflin Planning Committee members said they want to give the event a stronger identity this year.
By having a theme, planning member Jacob Miller said the committee is “branding it as not just a bunch of random students doing [Mifflin],” but as an event organized by a group.
Students had the opportunity to consider themes for the party and give feedback to the committee at an informational meeting last week. Despite low student attendance, the committee decided on “Mifflin Now, Mifflin Forever” for its positive feel, according to group member Dave McCaw.
Other ideas included “I Am Mifflin” and “We Are Mifflin,” as well as “Take Back Mifflin,” which some committee members felt had a negative tone.
“We repeated over and over again the need for a safe event… We stressed that if that doesn’t happen, Mifflin could go away,” Miller said.
Changes to this year’s May 5 event meant to increase student safety include prohibiting open containers of alcohol in the area blocked off for the event, not allowing glass on the street and starting the event at a later time.
Also at Sunday’s meeting, the committee discussed who should get to sponsor the event. Having a sponsor will enable the block party to obtain a street-use permit, which is necessary to allow portable toilets and food vendors on the streets.
While the group has not finalized a sponsor, at a previous meeting, members suggested All-Star Catering as a candidate. Although All-Star expressed interest and has sponsored past Mifflin events, it has not applied for this year’s party.
While some students may not remember previous themes, the block party has had them in the past. In 1975, the theme was “Sun Worship, Victory Chant.”
