Over 400 students dressed like Shrek danced the night away at California State University, Monterey Bay’s first-ever “Swamp Rave.” Hosted by Student Engagement and Leadership Development (SELD), attendees were provided with Shrek ear headbands, green glow sticks and even green face paint.
In 2001, Dreamworks Animation released “Shrek” to audiences everywhere, becoming an instant classic. Through the emergence of popular meme culture, the misunderstood Ogre and his franchise’s many characters, have become a cultural phenomenon, even 23 years since its release.
Fast-forward and the beloved franchise is now being enjoyed through one of the most freeing forms of expression, a rave. On March 15, students packed into the Otter Student union ballroom for the Shrek-themed rave lasting from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Japanese Language and Culture major Caleb Robbins was one attendee who left it all on the dance floor, enjoying his night whilst celebrating his favorite Ogre all at the same time.
“I am just having a freaking fun time just going out there dancing, letting myself loose,” said Robbins. “I don’t normally do that but I just wanted to get that out and have a good fun time with the friends around me.”
Dan Burfeind, senior coordinator of SELD, was initially confused with the idea of a Shrek rave. When students brought up the idea, he thought he was being pranked but quickly saw the vision and was happy that so many students had fun with each other, as well as enjoying Shrek.
“I’m really proud of the people we have here tonight because this is the weekend before spring break. It’s really cool to see the late turnout for this,” shared Burfeind. “I still can’t believe [Shrek is] still popular. This was freshman year of high school for me, what are we doing? I thought it was the world trolling me, but this is seriously something that people still think is cool.”
