Not into bar-hopping? Athens has plenty of other options to offer.
At first glance, Athens might not seem to have a large entertainment scene.
Uptown has its stretch of bars, but for those who are looking to take a step back from the nightlife scene, there are plenty of entertainment options that may not seem obvious.
Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, said when freshmen come to campus for orientation during the summer, Athens is pretty quiet.
“I’m sure in the back of their minds they’re thinking, you know, ‘How do I find out what’s going on?’ ” Holzaepfel said. “But once that opening weekend happens, you are kind of along for the ride. ... Everything is so quick after that point.”
Holzaepfel said the Performing Arts and Concert Series looks to try to bring shows that are typical for larger cities.
“Part of our mission is bringing these big city performers to Athens,” Holzaepfel added. “So we want to allow both our students and larger Athens community the opportunity to see performances that they could see at the Palace Theater in Columbus.”
Another aspect Holzaepfel tries to keep in mind is the cost.
“We want to give them the opportunities at a very reasonable ticket price,” Holzaepfel said.
Most of the Performing Arts and Concert Series is held at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, and the schedule can be found online.
If students are looking to get off campus for a night out, a venue that is vibrant with entertainment on the weekends is Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St.
“We have live bands Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights, and that could be anything from like a singer/songwriter night to like a death metal night,” Grace Corbin, marketing coordinator for Casa Nueva, said. “We also have dance nights ... our events here are pretty much always like late night on the weekends.”
In addition to weekend entertainment, Casa Nueva holds an open stage every Wednesday night at 10 p.m.
“Wednesday’s open stage is very popular,” Corbin said. “A lot of incoming freshmen do have a lot of talents or are in a band and do write songs, and they don’t really know where to start basically. So coming to an open stage is a great way to do that.”
Madeline Moriarty, a sophomore studying art history, said there is a diverse array of options for entertainment on campus.
“You can always find something to do,” Moriarty said.
Corbin said South Beach also hosts entertaining monthly activities, and there are other events held by the School of Fine Arts and the Marching 110.
“I went into a learning community for freshman year, and that really helped because, like, in the fine arts school you have to attend certain events and stuff and that, like, really showed a lot of other things that are on campus,” she said.
Moriarty said it is important for students to be able to immerse themselves in different cultures and try things that they would not normally do.
One of her favorite events to attend is the Midnight Madness, in which theater students have a week to produce and perform a play.
“I think promoting any form of creative expression is really important,” Corbin said. “Interacting with other people and watching someone perform their talents or something that they’ve been working on for a long time, just having that like human element ... this is what I love to do and showing that to people I think is really important."
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