SpringFest activity table swag
Students show off some of the swag they won at various activity tables during SpringFest.

SPRINGFEST, COLLIN’S GOT TALENT DRAW A CROWD

There was singing, dancing and games-aplenty at SpringFest, held at Spring Creek Campus on April 30. More than 1,000 people attended the biennial event that culminated with Collin’s Got Talent, a brand new addition to the festivities.

“I think it went great,” Deidra Carpenter, one of the organizers, said. “The student support was beyond everything we could imagine.”

Local band “The Roof Raisers” played an extended set as students walked from table to table, enjoying hands-on activities supplied by dozens of the college’s clubs and organizations. At one table, the Collin Organized Geek Society offered role-playing games, while, across the commons, the Collin College Foundation raised money with a test of coin throwing skill. Some clubs offered trivia and others games of skill, all with the aim of giving the students a chance to relax before finals, while possibly piquing their interest in getting involved next year.

Leonard Evans, an adjunct professor helping the Japanese Club, said the event was a good mix of fun and learning. His group’s table offered attendees the chance to see their names written in Japanese and to play a game where they moved marbles from one jar to another using only chopsticks.

Collin's Got Talent top honors
Leo Thomasian (singing) and Corbin Winkfield (playing the piano) took home the top spot at Collin’s Got Talent, April 30

“We’ve been busy,” Evans said. “Hopefully we are getting the word out about the club and people are having fun.”

Some students enjoyed the performances of the Collin College Dance Ensemble, dancing along to the tunes provided by the band, while others gravitated to the food trucks lined up in a nearby parking lot. The festivities continued through 2 p.m., but much of the crowd went inside to see fellow students perform at Collin’s Got Talent.

A first for this year, Collin’s Got Talent was a chance for students to showcase their abilities on the public stage, literally. Although many of the performances were vocal, there was a mix of talent, including a belly dancing performance by Simran Shallwani and a spoken word reading by Evelyn Pecikonis. Other performers included Alexandra Williams, Philip Galuban and Juan Rodriguez.

The top prize for the talent show went to Leo Thomasian and Corbin Winkfield, who will split a $1,250 scholarship. The pair performed a version of a Sam Smith song, with Thomasian singing and Wingfield accompanying on the piano. A second place $1,000 prize went to Maya Hook, who performed an Allen Stone song.

“Collin’s Got Talent was great,” Carpenter said after the show. “I felt so bad for the judges. The judges had a difficult job because every talent piece we had was so good. It was phenomenal, better than we could have ever dreamed.”

See photos from SpringFest at http://www.collin.edu/webgalleries/springfest2015/ . More photos from Collin’s Got Talent are available at http://www.collin.edu/webgalleries/collintalent2015/ .