Students gorge on sweets at Nutella Fest

It was a world of pure imagination as chocolate flowed at the fifth annual Nutella Fest on Saturday.

The event from noon to midnight at Collins Living-Learning Center was free to all attendees. It featured free food, including fruit, candy, cookies and more than 200 jars of the hazelnut-chocolate spread to put on it all.

Matt Gillam, a junior and member of the Residence Hall Association programming board, which sponsored the event, said more than 400 people said they were
attending on Facebook.

“We have several events to get people out and together on campus, but this is the big one of the fall,” Gillam said.

The event’s activities included a bounce castle, a fire pit where people could roast apples and hula hooping.

The IU Breakdancing Club performed to several songs as a crowd cheered them on, and jars of Nutella held down their mat.

Senior Julian Hashi, a member of the club, performed despite an injured wrist. He said the club usually performs during the spring when it’s not so cold out, but they have a few shows coming up.

“We’re performing at the (IU) Dance Marathon,” Hashi said. “I’ll have my hand back by then.”

Hashi said the club enjoyed performing for the Collins residents but admitted he has never actually tried Nutella.

Local bands including Neutronic, Patchwork and Love Bandit also played at the event.
Freshmen Collins residents Lauren Thoman and Courtney Dodge said they were excited to attend Nutella Fest for the first time.

“We will be going every year,” Dodge said, eating some of the fruit and chocolate.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” Thoman said. “I woke up and saw a bounce castle out my window, so I knew it was going to be a good day.”

Attendees were also given tickets to a drawing later in the day for prizes, including gift cards to Mother Bear’s Pizza and giant jars of Nutella.

The band You and All the Blind People covered the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” with a horn section.
Later, funk sensation The Main Squeeze got the crowd dancing with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” and their original song “Where do we go?”

When the band An Argot performed, they moved from the stage to under a flagpole, and the spectators gathered in a circle around them to watch them play by candlelight. The night ended with a performance by DJ INSPEKTAH.

Gillam said for most of the attendees, the highlight was the Nutella itself.

“Everyone likes it, and it tastes good on anything,” Gillam said. “It’s a universal thing.”