NMU’s Special Events Committee (SEC) hosted an open skate to love songs on Friday, Feb. 16 at the Lakeview Arena. 

This was a part of the university’s WinterFest activities, which have the main goal of promoting wellbeing and socialization for the campus community. 

“It’s good for people to interact with others, get to know friends or just be out in the community as a whole,” Special Events President and Coordinator Ali Deutsch said. 

Students had designated time on the Olson Rink ice from 4-6 p.m. They could rent skates for free and decorate heart-shaped glasses provided by the SEC. 

Spinning with the Snowflakes is the WinterFest 2024 slogan, which reflects an overarching theme of music genres within events being hosted, according to Deutsch. 

Since this open skate was held close to Valentine’s Day, it had a theme of love songs. Students skated to music revolving around romance such as “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles, “Anyone Else But You” by the Moldy Peaches and “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.

Fourth year Student Brennen Larson and a group of friends participated in the open skate event and were decked out in heart glasses.

“It was a fun opportunity to go skate with a lot of friends today, so I couldn’t turn it down,” Larson said.

Deutsch says the main goal of this year’s WinterFest is to promote the social wellbeing of campus. 

“Any [WinterFest] event is really just a great opportunity for students to get out there and push themselves out of their comfort zone,” Deutsch said. “Northern and surrounding communities have so much to offer.” 

She added these events encourage students to be in touch with their emotional wellbeing by promoting being social with their peers.  

“We should be doing things that make you feel good about yourself in the long run, rather than just doing what’s required, things that are intentional and that benefit you as a larger person,” Deutsch said.

The SEC is organizing four more events over the course of WinterFest 2024, with an activity for everyone. These include “Mocktails on Vinyl” for retro enjoyers, a dive-in movie for musical and movie fans, a lip sync battle and line dancing for country listeners, Deutsch added.

All information regarding upcoming events can be found on The Hub.