Fire-breathing pixies star at Homecoming pep rally
Kaajal Morar

Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: News

Fire-breathing, the announcement of the Homecoming Court and live music kept students and alumni glued to Tower Lawn last Thursday night for the Fire on the Fountain event.

The event is the official Homecoming pep rally, said Clifton Gold, the marketing and events coordinator for Associated Students.

Gold said the purpose of this event was to increase school pride and celebrate Homecoming.

"We had more people out there than last year," Gold said. "The cool thing was that everybody stayed until the end."

The event opened with two dance groups from the Pride of the Pacific Islands organization performing traditional dances from the Polynesian islands.

Then, the fire-dancing group Fire Pixie spun around the fountain on Tower Lawn. The dancers drew gasps and applause from the crowd through coordinated dance routines and fire-blowing.

They also interacted with the crowd by holding fire with their bare hands and allowing students to do so as well.

The show ended with the lighting of the propane bonfire, which was larger than last year's, Gold said.

"Most colleges do bonfires for Homecoming," Gold said, but added that other colleges light bonfires at a beach. "We wanted to figure out a way to do it on campus."

He said the idea of a bonfire on campus was more appealing because students would not have to go out of their way to celebrate Homecoming.

After the bonfire was lit, the Homecoming Court was introduced on the stage. Michael Reyes and Ann Grabowski were named the Homecoming King and Queen of 2008.

"I was nervous but at the same time so honored," said Grabowski, a behavioral science and sociology major. "It's an amazing experience to be chosen to represent the school."

Reyes, a senior accounting and management and information systems major, was unavailable for comment.

Shortly after, Jonah and Timeless, the music entertainment for the night, took the stage with a fusion of hip-hop and jazz that kept students such as Andrea Miles dancing.

"I'd love to see them again next year," said Miles, a freshman psychology major.

The band played their own songs, such as "Beautiful" and "Y'all Looking Good."

They also covered mainstream hip-hop and R&B songs, such as "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

"Jonah has performed for a lot of our campus concerts and at some of the barbecues," Gold said. "We thought he would be perfect because he always draws a huge turnout."

"I thought this was, in some ways, more spectacular (than Texas Tech) with fire dancers and a natural gas flame," said SJSU President Jon Whitmore. "It's a lot of fun, and it gets (the students) more connected to the university."