Troy University is gearing up for TROYAPALOOZA, its annual student celebration and costume party that will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 on the Troy Campus.

The free event, which is open to anyone from the University, will take place on the plaza located behind the International Arts Center and in the amphitheater in Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park.

TROYAPALOOZA will include a concert by POPulus, the University’s popular music ensemble comprised of students in the Music Industry Program. The event will also feature inflatables, t-shirt screen printing, a photo booth, slam poetry, interactive art, a Halloween costume contest with prizes and food including hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, pizza, funnel cakes and fried Oreos.

Now in its third year, TROYAPALOOZA grew out of the desire to provide a fun celebration for students following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After COVID as we all came back and tried to get back to normal life, we thought it would be a great opportunity to pull together different organizations and colleges to have an event for the students,” said Carrie Jaxon, Director and Curator of the International Arts Center. “They had missed out on a lot of their student experiences, so we thought this would be a great way to give back to them and show the support for our students. Each year it gets bigger and better.”

In addition to all the activities available at the event itself, a marketing competition was held for students within the University’s Department of Art and Design to help promote TROYAPALOOZA. The winner of the competition was Reanna Thompson for her design of the poster and other marketing materials.

TROYAPALOOZA is sponsored by Troy University, the International Arts Center, the Department of Art and Design, Troy University Library, the John M. Long School of Music, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, Academic Affairs, Student Services, the University Activities Council, the College of Education, International Student Services, the SGA and Sodexo.