Why do you dance?
It’s the question senior Laura Gonshorowski asked her team and the community as they compiled answers into a video promoting Cobberthon—the dance marathon event happening on Saturday, March 23. Answers ranged from fun and goofy to serious as people reflected on why they were participating in the event.
Gonshorowski, who is the executive chair of the Cobberthon committee, said the video is a fun and inspiring way to reflect upon why they organize this event.
Cobberthon is in its third year at Concordia. A 12-hour event happening in the Centrum, Cobberthon’s goal is to raise money for Sanford Children’s Hospital through Children’s Miracle Network. The money goes towards helping kids and their families afford their hospital bills.
Some of the kids and families who have benefited from the Children’s Miracle Network will be in attendance on Saturday, Gonshorowski said. The Cobberthon committee has gotten to know some of the kids over the past year so that the kids will have some familiar faces at the event, she said.
Each hour of the event has a different theme. Senior Jocelyn Fetsch, associate chair and entertainment co-chair, has planned out each hour.
“It’s been difficult because we have to create entertainment for both children and college students,” Fetsch said.
Kicking off the event at noon, the Cobberthon will begin with an opening ceremony. Fetsch said it will be a great introduction to the event, for participants will be able to hear from a family, the Sanford vice president and the manager of the Sanford’s pediatric and pediatric intensive care unit.
The committee, who has worked to put the event together, will also reveal their “morale dance” during the first hour. This is a tradition that began at other schools participating in Dance Marathon, Fetsch said. It is a five-minute dance created from 20-second clips of popular songs.
The rest of the hours are spilt into A and B hours. During B hours, Gonshorowski explained that there will be more stations or activities for participants to choose from, such as mind games, Twister, Dance Dance Revolution and four square.
During A hours, there will be one main event participants are doing. Positive Motion with Patrick Casper will get the participants up and energized for the afternoon. Zumba will also be the main event of an hour.
New this year to the event will be the Amazing Race. Teams will be competing in minute-to-win-it challenges, as well as relays and activities that send them around campus. Fetsch said they are going to have teams live tweet what they are doing so it will appear on the screen back in the Centrum. This will allow everyone to find out what the teams are up to throughout the race, she said.
Towards the end of the day, participants can look forward to Cobber Idol, a Thrift Shop Dance, and Power Hour. Cobber Idol, modeled after American Idol, will showcase vocal talents from Concordia. The judges will be Rat from Y94, a Children’s Miracle Network child, and a surprise Concordia celebrity.
At 10 p.m., Campus Entertainment Commission is sponsoring the Thrift Shop Dance where there will be a DJ, pizza, photo booth, and blow-up game. Fetsch said that since the previously scheduled Thrift Shop Dance was cancelled, CEC thought this would be a fun way for them to sponsor some time during the event.
The final hour, called Power Hour, is the last energy boost of the day. Glow sticks will be given out to help energize participants throughout the last hour.
Arthur Gutnik, a senior and Cobberthon committee member, said this is one of the things he is most excited about. He watched it via live-streaming at University of Iowa’s Dance Marathon and thought it was something they could incorporate into Concordia’s event.
“How cool would it be for us to be in a big room and just glow,” he said.
Gutnik also said that what he is looking forward to most is the big reveal, happening at the end of Cobber Idol. The entire purpose of the Cobberthon is to raise money and the Cobberthon committee has set this year’s goal at $10,000. As participants have signed up to dance, they have also been raising money to help reach that goal.
Although they are saving the final numbers until the big reveal, Gutnik said they are close. He said that even though the event is tiring, the relief the participants experience at the end is rewarding.
“(The kids’) stories are inspiring,” Gutnik said. “It gives a purpose to what we are doing—it’s for the kids.”
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