| By
Kyle Eller
April 3, 2005 | Duluth
Budgeteer News
Geek Prom for ’05 will have a few new twists. For one
thing, it may be the first year without streakers, which you
might call an addition by subtraction.
Geek Prom organizer Paul Lundgren says with the change in
venue -- it will be held at Pizza Luce Saturday, April 9 --
opportunities will be more, um, scant.
Bigger venues like the
Norshor Theatre and the Great Lakes Aquarium have meant “more
naked nerds,” he said. It has happened every year, but
not by any official support.
“We’re not offering prizes for that, nor are we
offering immunity,” Lundgren said.
Luce will probably be more crowded, and starting and ending
points are less obvious. “There’s a lot of security
cameras in the Technology Village, by the way,” Lundgren
added.
The change in venue actually wasn’t implemented to eliminate
garb-less geeks. The event has been achieving attention in
the national media from the start, and this year is no exception
-- one technology television network is sending a crew all
the way from Los Angeles this year for a report. But that
hasn’t translated into the kind of growth event organizers
anticipated. Each year has brought out about 300 people, a
good turnout, but not something you need the DECC for.
So this year the focus is “less on big and more on fun,”
Lundgren said.
It will mean some advantages, including having everything
in one room, so it will be harder to miss something important.
Lundgren says one year there was an exploding model volcano
in a room and he never even knew about it.
The band this year is Hoot Owls.
“This is the first time we’ve had a Duluth group
headline the show,” Lundgren said. “... They’re
hot off a gig at World of Wheels.”
The band includes members of a Duluth group that was an opening
act at Geek Prom in a previous year.
The crowning of this year’s king and queen geek, an
annual happening, will have special meaning, because the winners
will get a ride in a Cirrus SR-22 airplane. Cirrus, which
is not an official sponsor of the event, donated the prize.
There will be drink and food specials, video games, a spaz-dancing
contest, and a new event -- the Gonzo Gong Show, featuring
the Richardson Brothers of Gonzo Science fame.
“As usual, we anticipate that someone might be kissed
for the first time,” Lundgren said.
Things start at 9 p.m. with a grand march. Advance tickets
are not necessary -- cost is $10 at the door.
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