After highly-attended 100Days, 30Nights looms on horizon

By Jaclyn Youngblood     3/26/09 7:00pm

If you did not get all of your spring semester thrills out at 100Days, fear not: 30Nights is just around the corner. The party is set for Wednesday, April 8 from 9 p.m.-2 a.m., event coordinator Dylan Guyer said. Guyer, a Brown College senior, said the event will be held at one of downtown Houston's newest dance clubs, Element.

Since Element has a maximum capacity of 500 people, Guyer said it will be a little harder to get a ticket than previously. For 100Days, 500 tickets were sold in advance; for 30Nights, only 300 will be available ahead of time. In February, 650 students attended 100 Days, filling Club 26ten to capacity.

Maggie Murphy, a Martel College junior, said she would be disappointed if, by virtue of having fewer tickets available, less underclassmen attended the party.

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"The fun thing about [these parties] is that everyone goes, not just seniors," Murphy said.

Ticket prices will be the same as they were for 100Days: $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets are on sale now in all the colleges. Guyer said seniors should buy their tickets early so they do not have to wait in line at the door.

Guyer said he and the other event coordinators had initially hoped to have the party at Sammy's, a downtown jazz club.

"We liked the idea of having a live jazz band instead of a DJ, but it didn't work out [at Sammy's]," Guyer said.

During the final stages of planning, Sammy's decided to add a $2,000 price tag, he said.

"We didn't want to pay and we knew that [Element] had just opened up," Guyer said.

Element has agreed to let Rice rent out the club for free that night.

Guyer said Element is the perfect place to hold 30Nights. He said the drinks will be cheaper than at Club 26ten, where 100Days was held, and the club is one block from the McGowen stop on the light rail.

"Transportation will be a lot easier," Guyer said. He added that buses will also be provided for those who choose not to use the light rail.

Guyer said he thinks 30Nights could be as successful as 100Days was.

"There are lots of podiums to dance on," he said. "I know Rice people like to dance on tables."

In keeping with the original desire to hold the party at a jazz club, 30Nights will have a jazz theme.

"I'm excited about the theme because people today don't appreciate jazz the way they ought to," Murphy said.

Over the past four years, the party has not held the same name for two consecutive years, Guyer said. He said last year's event was called 50Days, while the three years prior to that it was called 30Nights. With the scheduling of spring break and Spring Recess falling the way it did, Guyer said April 8, and therefore 30Nights, was the best fit.

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