Events sponsored by University Housing usually include kiddie games, popcorn and T-shirt giveaways, but rarely do they involve ice skates and green screens.

Entertainment Avenue, a Maryland-based firm for fun, provided a 24-by-4 foot synthetic ice-skating rink that brought out more than 800 students to the Frozen Fun event Tuesday night at Grinnell Hall.

“We didn’t know how many people would really be interested in ice skating indoors but we were really happy with the outcome,” said Justin Schuch, coordinator of residential leadership and engagement. Schuch said he cut out more than 70 3D snowflakes to help add to the theme.

Schuch said housing usually schedules a large event each semester and this idea came from resident hall advisors. The Black Togetherness Organization, National Residence Hall Honorary and Area Councils also collaborated to create the event.

The skating rink wasn’t really made of ice, but rather 42 4-by-8 foot plastic panels, said Danny Divens, Entertainment Avenue’s operations manager.

“[We use] real thick, hard plastic as the rink and then we spray a real thin, almost watery, silicone plastic on top of the rink and that’s what gives the illusion of gliding on ice,” he said.

The plastic used for the skating rink, which weighs more than a ton when assembled, is similar to that of a cutting board.

While the skating rink was not covered with ice, Divens said the skates were metal-tipped. He said skates are sharpened every four uses.

“It’s not like you’re in your tennis shoes and just skate around; you actually use real ice skates,” he said.

The rink itself, which was the medium option of the company’s three rink sizes, cost $3,000 and was paid for by the Student Activity Fee, Schach said. That fee was $45.40 during each of the last two semesters.

Brandon Macier, coordinator of marketing for housing, said this was the first time the university tried to simulate an event like ice skating indoors.

“We just try to go above and beyond with bringing entertainment,” Macier said. “Not just your standard fair, but we really try to bring different things that students haven’t seen before.”

However, the skating rink was not the end of the entertainment brought to East Campus. Along with games and prize drawings, there was also a green screen, which allowed students to take pictures encompassing the event’s wintery theme.

The images that appeared on the green screen were not all created by Entertainment Avenue; an SIU student submitted designs for the company to use.

Rebecca Michelson, a senior from Millersville studying communication design, works in University Housing and helped Macier come up with four backgrounds for the photos.

“We wanted to get a visual sense of what we wanted them to see and then repeat that throughout all the different items,” she said.

Michelson said she designed the backdrops, then emailed them to Entertainment Avenue, which then provided its employees with the images. Michelson said she was excited her designs added to fun, frozen theme.

In an email, Schuch said other students who want to participate in planning for events like Frozen Fun can meet at 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. Monday in Lower Level Grinnell with the National Residence Hall Honorary or the Residence Hall Association, respectively. The Black Togetherness Organization also helps plan the events at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday in the same location.

Tyler Davis can be reached at [email protected]