Sun God Festival

Sun God Festival
Genre Hip-hop, Rock, EDM
Dates Mid-May
Location(s) UC San Diego
Years active 1983 - 2014
Founded by AS Concerts & Events, UCSD
Website
sungodfestival.ucsd.edu

The Sun God Festival is an annual campus festival at the University of California, San Diego that usually takes place on the Friday of the seventh week during spring quarter. Beginning in the early afternoon and running throughout the evening until midnight, the festival is produced by the Associated Students Concerts & Events office and paid for by the students with an activity fee. The festival contains a fair, as well as multiple stages which feature art performances, DJ performances, and a mix of underground/indie bands and mainstream groups. All of this occurs on RIMAC Field.[1] The main stage is traditionally opened by the winner of the Battle of the Bands at UCSD.[2]

The festival's name references the Sun God, an on-campus statue by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002). The Sun God was the first contribution to the famous Stuart Collection. The first Sun God Festival coincided with the one-year anniversary of the statue's arrival in 1984.[3][4] The festival's original location was adjacent to the statue, but it has since grown and moved numerous times, from Price Center to the now-demolished Mile High Field, to its current location on the RIMAC field.

The festival and concert provide an opportunity for students to enjoy themselves after midterm examinations. Campus police, reinforced by other San Diego Police Department officers, join forces with plain clothes officers and random open-container checks in an attempt to counter the surge of underage drinking that typically accompanies the event.[5]

The festival/fair portion of Sun God consists of booths made for the most part by student organizations. Booths are organized into food, information, game, etc. In addition, the Junkyard Derby down hill race typically takes place on the day of the Sun God Festival, where students and faculty alike can form groups to create downhill racers made from old/junkyard parts.[2]

Sun God Festival has consistently drawn more and more attendees in the past few years. This is likely due to the increase in popularity of stage talent, as well as the introduction in 2010 of "Sun God: The Alumni Experience", a program through which former UCSD students are given the opportunity to purchase a ticket to the festival and VIP events.[6] In 2011, student wristband distribution, which begins a day before the festival and is on a first-come first-served basis, saw all 17,000 wristbands claimed in under 8 hours.[7]

Past Lineups

2009 Sun God Festival - view from Main Stage
2009 Sun God Festival - Girl Talk headlining the Dance Tent

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sun God Festival 2009".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 @UCSD: Celebrating Our Sun God
  3. ↑ Pincus, Robert (October 28, 2001). "The 20th anniversary of UCSD's Stuart Collection celebrates a grand experiment in public art". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  4. ↑ Williams, Jack (September 14, 2002). "James DeSilva; visionary collector of art for UCSD". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ Undercover Agents Foster Disdain, Not Student Safety
  6. ↑ Clark, Christine. "Sun God Sells Out with More than 20,000 Attending Music Festival". This Week @ UCSD. Retrieved 5/2/13. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ↑ "A Record-Breaking Sun God". The Guardian. Retrieved 5/2/13. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ↑ "The Guardian: Sun God 2001".
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 UCSD Guardian, Volume 45, Issue 45
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 "Past SGF Posters".
  11. ↑ "UCSD Wiki: Sun God 2007".
  12. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2008".
  13. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2010".
  14. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2011".
  15. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2012".
  16. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2013".
  17. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2014".
  18. ↑ "Sun God Festival 2015".

External links