Crowds gathered around Mya Soderberg while she sat on a blue inflatable chair during Saturday’s Oktoberfest celebration.

As the second of two contestants in a parody of the MTV show “Singled Out,” Soderberg’s goal was to find a date.

The dating game was a new event at this year’s Oktoberfest. Cat calls and cheering supplied encouragement as Soderberg picked from five categories to eliminate men from the group. The categories were height, facial hair, neatness, commitment and underwear.

After choosing facial hair, Soderberg decided which group she wanted to eliminate, men with bare faces or men with beards. She decided to hook the men with beards. The process continued until only two men were left.

The two remaining men then competed with each other by quickly slurping bottled water because whoever drank the most in five seconds won the date with Soderberg.

Soderberg, a sophomore in hotel and restaurant management, was looking forward to her evening with winner Adam Joseph, a junior in political science from Geneseo.

“I have a boyfriend, but I did it to meet more people,” Soderberg said.

Oktoberfest, an annual celebration sponsored by the Thompson Point Executive Council, has been a Thompson Point tradition for decades. Each hall council sets up two booths a food booth and a game booth. Oktoberfest, which took place from noon to 4 p.m. this year, included food, games, music and raffles.

Jim Giagnon, the first contestant in the “Singled Out” parody, sat in a blue chair choosing from a group of women. Giagnon eliminated women through the categories of height, hair color, music, age and GPA.

As Giagnon eliminated shorter women, the host asked the final two contestants vying for a date to draw self-portraits while blindfolded.

Giagnon chose Carissa Meyer’s portrait as the winner.

Meyer, a freshman in cinema, appeared excited about her future date. She said she thought Giagnon was “cool.”

The two couples won a dinner at Garfield’s, 1237 E. Main St., and a movie at University 8, with expenses and travel covered by the council.

John Metcalf, the charismatic host of “Singled Out” and a freshman in aviation flight, said he was thrilled to be involved in Oktoberfest.

“It’s a rocking good time,” said Metcalf. “Anyone who missed it has got to come to Springfest because we’re going to do more.”

As the smells of delicious food and the sounds of music drifted toward them, Meredith Hudgens, Baldwin Hall Council president, carefully painted a flower on Kim Gardner’s cheek at Baldwin Hall’s face-painting booth.

Hudgens, a freshman in political science, said Oktoberfest was a great place to be on a sunny fall afternoon.

“I was skeptical at first, but looking around and seeing how well TPEC put it together, I think it’s going to be a success,” said Hudgens.

One of the hall council booths this year was the “Winston Wannabees” bagel booth by Kellogg Hall. Ryan Rothermel, a freshman in computer science, said his hall wanted to be distinct.

“We thought about how everyone likes Winston’s,” said Rothermel. “It sounded like a really cool idea.”

Amanda Emmerich, TPEC treasurer, said Oktoberfest allows Thompson Point residents an opportunity to mingle.

“The hall councils have so much fun with this,” said Emmerich. “It brings them together and allows them to socialize outside the hall. Overall it’s a big success.”