UNC Mirror

Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Felicia Sheumaker Chris Gagliardi of What About Pluto plays at the Mellow Out benefit concert on Saturday. The event was hosted to benefit the Weld Food Bank.

In an effort to combat hunger in the community, the University of Northern Colorado's Coalition of Student Philosophers hosted a benefit concert for the Weld Food Bank at the Garden Theatre on Saturday.

While Springfest raged on under the sun and half clouded sky at Nottingham Field, many people found the time to stop by central campus to check out the benefit concert. The event was sponsored by the College Student Council of Education and had scheduled musical performances by Attica, The Common Good, The Don'ts and Be Carefuls, Alex Nauman, Sean Prahinski and What About Pluto.

"This year we are having a donation box for the Weld Food Bank and all proceeds will go to that," said Wade Vitany, president of the UNC Coalition of Student Philosophers.

The Weld Food Bank is affiliated with Second Harvest, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States. The bank is a private, non-profit organization that collects, stores and processes food to give to low-income members in the community in hunger crisis situations.

"It's really nice to know that the student body comes together to help out the community like this, I had no idea," said April Ryan, a junior elementary education major. "It's always sad when you are reminded that people all around you don't have the money to eat, especially when they are families with little kids. But at least there are students and groups that want to help out, you know, it's just sweet."

Sean Prahinski, a junior journalism major, performed at the benefit.

"The bands here were all really cool and diverse," Prahinski said. "It was a range of everything from pop/punk to experimental jazz."

Although the event has existed at UNC in the past, it wasn't resurrected until 2006, but has now been running strong for three consecutive years. This is the first year in several years that the concert has been for charity.

"The College Student Council has been generous enough to donate money to help with providing sound equipment," Vitany said.

In past years, extra money has been put toward other things like food.

"Last year we didn't have a donation box, but we were able to cook burgers and hot dogs and hand them out," Vitany said.

Although this year there was no food, the melodic sounds of both local and student bands carried on throughout the UNC campus.

"It's just a time to mellow out," Vitany said.

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