The Oakland University Rec Center will give students a warm welcome to the school year by hosting their annual Rec Fest event. The event, which takes place at the Rec Center, Friday Sept. 23, from 9 p.m. until midnight, is open to all students and their guests. To attend Rec Fest, OU students must have a student I.D. Guests can attend as well for a $5 fee.

Students in attendance can enjoy free food, photo booths, games and prizes. The first 500 people that come to Rec Fest will also receive a free t-shirt.

The theme of this year’s Rec Fest is, “Life is Sweet.”

Lauren Rimmell, the marketing intern at the Rec Center, said the theme fits this year’s Rec Fest.

“We want to promote a healthy lifestyle by saying, ‘life is sweet,’ take care of yourself,” Rimmell said.

Last year, the Rec Fest set an attendance record with 1,200 attendees.

Brett Steudle, graduate assistant of intramural and club sports said the popularity of the event has increased, while many of the attractions are the same.

“In years before, there wasn’t even 1,000 (people), so it increased significantly,” Steudle said. “Nothing has drastically changed … so that’s a positive reinforcement that we’re doing something right.”

At last year’s Rec Fest, the popular stations included the caricature artists and psychics.

“The psychics and caricatures just had lines,” Steudle said. “So this year we upped the amount that we have to let the students have an opportunity to see what they want to do.”

Because of the popularity, the psychics and caricature artists will return and will be available from 10 p.m. to midnight.

To find out how the event stays fresh with new excitement, Steudle said that he and the Rec Center track the responses from the student population that influence the event’s structure from year to year.

“We work with 125 undergraduate students so we get feedback from them all the time,” Steudle said. “We’ve added some new things that will keep the event fresh.”

New to the event this year is the wing-eating contest, which is sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings. Similarly, Coldstone Creamery will be serving ice cream.

Rimmell believes the event will help let students know what life at Oakland is about.