The Davies Welcome Home Party is a causal event held in the UW-Eau Claire Davies Center.

The party took place Saturday and included free food, live music, improv groups and most of all a chance for incoming students and returning students to meet and be welcomed to the campus.

Nicole Rindone, the Coordinator of Student Activities, said the Davies party is an awesome opportunity for students.

“It is a great way for new students to get to know the building,” she said.  “They will be spending a lot of time in here getting their food. It is a great way for them to easily get a chance to check out the spaces. Anyone is welcome to come.  Free music, free entertainment. I think for anybody, we gear it towards the new students of course but it is a welcome back to school event.”

Brooke Doll, a freshman at Eau Claire expressed how the event got people there to explore the building.  During one of the live music performances she noticed that there was a third floor balcony and people coming over to watch the band The Millenium.

Kelly Bertzyk, an Eau Claire alumn, said she really enjoyed the Davies Party.

“Being here as an Eau Claire alumni, I think it has improved since when we were freshman,” Bertzyk said. “It was a much lesser scale when we were freshman, they have really stepped it up, improved it and made it a much more exciting experience.”

Bertzyk said that as an event, the Davies Party was a better opportunity now then when she attended.

“I remember mine when I was with my RA and we were forced to go down to the campus mall and that was basically it,” she said. “Now I feel that it is much more care-free and chill in a good way and it gives people a chance to be social.”

Members of the band The Millenium, who performed at the Davies Welcome Party, Matt Hasenmueller and Kyle Culver, are particular fans of the event.

Hasenmueller said he loves this event.  When he played at the Davies Center before with another band they peformed in the cafeteria.  This time he preformed on the balcony and really enjoyed it.

Both Hasenmueller and Culver said they feel the university has put much more effort into the event, and have seen it develop being from the Eau Claire area.

“We are both from this area and to see this transcendence of how the university has taken the music aspects and the entire culture.  To say that we have been part of that is a real cool thing,” Culver said.

The Davies party also included performances from music artists Lauren Powell and Adelyn Rose, who both performed in the Cabin, as well the Glassworks improv group and The Backwards Thinkers Society.

The Backwards Thinkers Society is the campus improv group, which specifies on improvisational comedy.

Paul Matthews of the Backwards Thinkers Society said he enjoyed this year’s party.

“Last year we did the same show but it was a lot less extravagant,” Matthews said. “It seems like they put a lot more effort into it this year.  There is a lot more decorations.”