Coffeehouse Moves to Online Format for 2020

Student Activities has announced their plans  to host their winter coffeehouse virtually.

Special Events Coordinator Clayton Copper said that Student Activities staff has been organizing the event since August. They began planning for a virtual event in September  but officially decided to switch to an online platform in late September.  Copper said that the team wanted to host the event in person, but have a desire to make sure as many people could enjoy the event as possible. 

“With all the uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought, hosting this event virtually allows us to know that the event will take place and allow for more than the mandated 1,000 max capacity to enjoy,” Copper said.

Coffeehouse: Winter Wonderland, scheduled for Nov. 21, will be livestreamed on Student Activities’ Instagram page. 

Auditions will also be held virtually, and videos can be submitted through a Dropbox link located on the Student Activities website. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 18.

“While traditional Coffeehouses have hosted over 6,000 people, this Virtual Coffeehouse has the capacity to be enjoyed by anyone who follows along on our Instagram,” Copper said.“With over 16,000 followers on Instagram, we can expect a large viewing.”

Student Activities plans to pre-record the event and release it as a full production. There will be no tickets, and the only in-person spectators will be the production team.

“I think with everything going on, [Virtual Coffeehouse] is a creative way to come together,” Student Activities Event Staff Natalie Barsamian said. “Even if it looks a little different this year.”

Barsamian adds that the staff has plans to include subtle twists into this year’s Coffeehouse to spice things up. 

“They’re little sneaky secrets, but it’ll be new and it will be great to have all of the staff involved in a hands-on way,” Barsamian said.

Past Coffeehouse events have featured student bands, dance routines, skits and videos. Themes have included — Where Dreams Come True, The Motion Picture, and Unwrapped. 

Addison Tarr is a News Reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @addi_tarr.