Hundreds of Students, Alumni attend annual Spring Concert

In what has become a GW tradition, hundreds of GW students and alumni flocked to Spring Fling on University Yard on Sunday, April 7 to hear the rapper Macklemore perform his number one hit, Thriftshop.

Alumni used the opportunity to reconnect with friends from their years at GW while enjoying the sounds of both Macklemore, and the opening band, Walk the Moon.

“I would have come either way to see my friends,” said Rob Maxim, ESIA ‘11. “But when I heard it was Macklemore, who really burst on the scene right before they announced he’d be here, I knew I couldn’t miss it.”

Before the concert started, students and alumni were treated to free crepes from campus favorite Crepeaway, a chance to practice their pitching, climb an inflatable rock wall, and receive free giveaways from Coca-Cola, Car2Go, and HBO. Perhaps the most popular booth was the GW “thriftshop,” with deeply discounted GW merchandise.

“I’m gonna’ pop some tags!” Emily Smith, SMPA BA ‘11, said, referencing a lyric from the hit song.

GW Dean of Students Peter Konwerski, GSEHD BA ‘91, MA ‘94, D.Ed ‘97, said the whole afternoon was great for the entire GW community.

“This is a great event for students, alumni, faculty, families and staff. I’m glad people came out for a good time,” Konwerski said in an interview.

James Bonneau, CCAS BA ‘10,  said that he came to the event because of Macklemore, and because of the memories he had of Spring Flings from the past.

“This has always been fun, and Macklemore, who I missed when he performed at South by Southwest, is the biggest name PB has gotten in a while,” Bonneau said.

Macklemore lived up to the hype. Jennifer Gorfine, CCAS BA ‘12, said she enjoyed it the festivities.

“I really appreciate that I can still take part in some of the fun things that made my GW experience so great. It’s nice to know that my relationship with GW doesn’t have to end just because I’m moved out to NoVA,” Gorfine said.

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