The sun was bright on Monday, April 12 after a string of gloomy showers this past week. Underground Perspective took advantage of this beautiful day at Woodland Park in Lexington. Music was flowing in the air with a pavilion full of smiles and the scent of barbecue in the air. Dogs were invited to, and serotonin was at an all-time high for everyone there.

After a difficult winter and a stressful midterm season, Underground Perspective wanted to create an event that connects the UK community and gets students out of their dorms and into the sun, allowing them to take a break from their studies.

UGP president and senior communication major, Ella Sarpong, organized the block party with her leadership team to bring more people into this community.

“We really just strive for community, diversity and service. A lot of the things we do, we do for the community.” Sarpong said, “So, this cookout right now is us giving back to those within the Underground Perspective community but also the UK campus community. We’re trying to give them something to look forward to now that we’re coming to the end of the year.”

“Our goal is to build a social community through diversity,” Kylie Threatt said, “With this event, we’re just trying to get everyone out to have a good time and build connections with people they probably wouldn’t get to see otherwise.”

Threatt is a sophomore double majoring in finance and marketing and is also interning for the treasurer position at UGP. Underground Perspective puts an emphasis on creating a space for new students to feel comfortable and welcome at UK. Freshman Leina Tumba is an Integrative Strategic Communication major who found a home on campus with UGP.

“I wanted to find people I could relate to at a PWI. You’re always looking for a group of people you can surround yourself with and that’s what I found at UGP,” Tumba said.

Planning and promoting the event included a lot of work behind the scenes. On their instagram @ugperspective, multiple videos were posted of the organization leaders and actives acting out their own personal Block Party to advertise it. Faces of the leaders were shown in this video with their names titling each shot and respective character names below it. They were depicted laughing, jump roping, dancing and having a good time. This promotion video came to life at the event itself.

Although Zimaud Harley filmed this promotion video, the promotion directors played a huge part in outreach for this event. Bradon Walker is a senior with a major in communications and he is one of the co-directors of promotion along with junior special education major, Haley Brents.

“We really are just hoping to facilitate community and bring everyone together. It’s been a very long year, a year that a lot of people haven’t been able to actually be together, so we wanted to give people the opportunity to hang out, have a good time and not stress about school for a little bit,” Brents said.

This event is only one of many this week, as there are many more to come. Every spring, UGP hosts a week of fundraisers, service events, and fun things for UK students and active members to get involved in. This is their own spirit week and their purpose is to have an outlet for stress relief and fun in between midterms and finals and to begin their passing from the current leaders to the new executive board of UGP.

“We’re trying to push the new energy and new vibes. These events allow you to experience the last few minutes of this executive board being together,” President Sarpong said on the string of events from April 11 to April 17.

UGP is hosting a community service opportunity on Tuesday, bowling on Wednesday and a typical meeting on Thursday – but if you plan on attending, come in all black, as there will be a game of manhunt afterwards. On Friday, UGP is hosting a fundraiser that includes throwing pies in the faces of their members and Saturday, UGP is hosting their own version of “Wild ‘N Out.” You can head to their Instagram for more information on these events or to reach out and join their community.