Carmel Kookogey | Collegian
Penny’s coffee shop, which opened earlier this semester, will be hosting a campus-wide painting contest tonight.
Student Activities Board and Penny’s have partnered to host “Penny’s and Painting” on Thursday, Oct. 11 in the New Dorm from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free coffee will be available and the winner of the contest will receive a voucher for a free drink. The winner’s artwork will be displayed in the coffee shop for a week.
Junior John Ball, a member of SAB’s creative team, originally had the idea for the event.
“We were thinking by making an event with Penny’s we could not only make a fun event for campus, but also boost awareness for Penny’s,” he said.
When Ball approached Penny’s on behalf of SAB, sophomore Caroline Hennekes, the creative manager at Penny’s, was pleased to be able to host an event.
“We’ve been wanting to do an event to get more people out,” she said. It will be really relaxing at this time of the semester to have some time to exercise the creative part of your brain and a time of community to enjoy.”
Penny’s management hopes the event will increase traffic as well as induce more students to visit the new space.
“Once they come into our space, they come back,” General Manager Emily Barnum said. “We already have some regulars. It will be cool to expose people who haven’t been exposed yet to our product and our vibe.”
Ball noted that the combination of coffee and painting would create the intended atmosphere for the event.
“I thought it would be a great event to pair with coffee,” Ball said. “Coffee boosts creative energy. Painting is a relaxed way to have a nice, creative atmosphere.”
Hennekes hopes the event will further Penny’s mission statement.
“Our whole heart behind it is connecting community and building it,” Hennekes said. “Having an event is another way we’re trying to do that.”
