Northwestern State University’s radio station, KNWD 91.7, hosted its annual Monster Ball, a night filled with music, costumes and fun, the day before Halloween.
Torin Merchant, a sophomore communication major, is one of KNWD’s assistant event coordinators. While she didn’t originally help to plan Monster Ball, Merchant stepped in when the other assistant event coordinator had to drop the event at the last minute. “It was honestly a little stressful at first, but because it’s an event that I like and a holiday I like, it was easy and fun,” Merchant said.
“My favorite part would be getting there before all of the other staff members … because it was kind of like this calm before the storm,” Merchant said. “I just loved hearing a line dance coming on and seeing everybody dance and bond over the fact that they all get to dress up in their costumes and celebrate Halloween.”
For the costume contest, everyone who wanted to participate lined up on the dance floor, and five KNWD staff members from different departments chose the top five. Once the top five were chosen, the crowd then decided on the winner by cheering for them. The prize for the winner was a Dark Woods Adventure Park ticket and a gift card.
Amber Kearney, a graduate art major, won this year’s costume contest. She was dressed as a red and white clown and made the ruffles and cuffs on her costume. “[It was] very exciting [to win]. I’m glad other people enjoyed my costume as much as I enjoyed making it and putting it together,” Kearney said.
There were many creative costumes present at Monster Ball. Anunye Thomas, a sophomore vocal music education major, was dressed as Fancy Nancy. “I really wanted to go there just for the costume contest,” Thomas said. “I spent a whole year, since last Halloween, planning my costume.” Though Thomas didn’t win the costume contest, she did make the top five.
When asked about her expectations for the ball, Thomas was looking for fun. “All the events I’ve gone to for [KNWD] were just really good events, so I was excited to see how they did this one, because last year I didn’t go to Monster Ball. This year I heard about it and everybody said that it’s so much fun, so I was really excited,” Thomas said.
Having fun wasn’t the only motivator for going to Monster Ball this year. Rachel Melton, a junior psychology major, was looking forward to the music. “I saw it on Instagram and thought it would be fun … and also, they said they would have music,” Melton said.
“I didn’t have a lot of expectations because I haven’t been to something like this before,” Melton said. “I think probably the music and the snacks [were] my motivating factors. But I thought the costume contest was really fun, too.”
Monster Ball was an exciting Halloween event for both the students and KNWD staff, who are already looking forward to next year. From the costumes and snacks to the music and dancing, students searching for a spooky party could find their way to an enjoyable night with friends.
