What is UKA?
What is UKA?
This Autumn, the stage is set for UKA i ÅS 2022! – But what exactly is it? It is not only the colors on the leaves that slowly shift towards warmer tones this autumn. Studentsamfunnet i Ås is also slowly shifting into its orange suit. It is finally time for UKA i Ås 2022! Tuntreet met up with the Head of UKA, Jørgen Bonden, to get an explanation on all the fuzz – because what exactly is UKA?
Journalist: Ingvild Lauvstad Sunde
Translator: Kristin Gilboe
Fotograf: Magnhild Hummel
“UKA is really just a student festival that lasts for a longer period and is hosted by students connected by the same university”, explains Jørgen. “`UKA` i Trondheim (established in 1917) and `UKA i ÅS` (established in 1924) are the two oldest and most traditional UKEfestivals, alongside `UKEN` in Bergen (1946) and `UKA på Blindern’` (Oslo, 1931). UKA is the largest in scale, while UKA i Ås is a few days longer. That makes UKA i Ås Norway's longest cultural festival”, Jørgen proudly states. Both UKA and UKA i Ås are held in October, but UKA i Trondheim takes place in odd years and UKA i Ås in even years.
Through the years, several more UKEfestivals have been established, and students from Ålesund (‘U.-KA’), Stavanger (‘UGÅ’) and Sogndal (‘VEKO’) all arrange their own version of UKA. These festivals are, however, quite different. “The different UKEfestivals vary both in content, length and especially traditions”, Jørgen explains. He does however see some similarities between them. “The UKEfestivals are usually planned around a UKErevue. This is actually the reason several of the UKEfestivals were established”. Both Trondheim and Ås started with revues, which later expanded to a week-long student festival. Hence the name UKA (directly translated to ‘the week’). And even though most of them last longer than a week, the name UKA is still used.
The festival has grown a lot since it first started more than 100 years ago. “In addition to the revue, we have booked a number of bigger artists for several concerts. UKA i Ås also contains other social events and parties, as well as daytime activities”, Jørgen explains. But what are the Head of UKA’s “must attend”?
UKA i Ås – dictionary: Blokk (team): A group consisting of several committees who works within the same field. For example, Revyblokka (The Revue team) or Husblokka (The House team). The Head of each team has a place in the Board of UKA where the Head of UKA is the leader.
Komité (committee): A specialized committee within a team, for example The Kitchen Committee.
KS (The Committee head): The head of each committee. These are part of their team boards and answers to the Head of the team. There are approximately 80 KS’ under UKA i Ås 2022.
NK (The Second-in-Command): These are committee members with a bit more responsibility. They work as the Second-in-Command for their committee.
“Funkis” (Committee member): Volunteers at UKA i Ås, each belonging to a committee.
MiniUKA : A small version of UKA. It takes place in the spring before UKA and is a trial run before the real one in October.
Spritsløyfa (The liquor route): A route made up of bars where you can have a sort of ‘bar crawl’. The social clubs build and run their own bar, which has a theme of their choosing.
“The first event in UKA i Ås is the Student Premiere of the UKErevue. This is an evening for dressing up, there is dinner and speeches, and the students get an extra acknowledgement. This is also the premiere of the revue,” Jørgen explains, before recommending everyone to participate. “This is also the first evening of Spritsløyfa (the liquor route). Spritsløyfa is a closed-circle bar route, consisting of over 20 themed bars, which takes up most of the second floor at Samfunnet. Some bars are even placed outside to connect the route. The bars are built and run by Ås’ social clubs, andare completely new every time UKA i Ås takes place. “This is a big part of UKA i Ås,” he adds. Another tradition is the 3000m beer race, organised by Mannskoret Over Rævne. This is a race where the participants chug a 0,33l beer (or cider) before running a lap. This continues until 7 beers and 3000m are down. Several social clubs participate (and vomits), and the event is a real crowd pleaser.
There is, in other words, a lot happening during the four weeks known as UKA i Ås. “As most of the UKEfestivals around the country, UKA i Ås is based entirely on volunteer work,” Jørgen says and smiles. He estimates that around 1200 – 1300 students volunteer to work with everything from costume design to carpentry and UKEmerch.
“What’s so great about UKA i Ås is that everyone works towards a common goal, while still doing what they most want to do. You can choose exactly which committee you would like to contribute in, while still participating in making a great festival for everyone”. Jørgen is impressed with how much effort people are willing to put into it. “UKA i Ås is one big collaboration, and when it’s finished, you have the opportunity to look back at a really fun period.” He also emphasizes that there are a number of ways you can participate, and that you should not hesitate to talk to someone already involved, seek out a brochure or go online to see how you can participate.
What has the Head of UKA participated in? “I started at Ås in 2018, which was the year of UKA. I had an amazing Buddy who also happened to be KS of UKEgrillen. He made me join as a “funkis”. I met a lot of great people there,” Jørgen explains. He is grateful to be surrounded by so many motivated and committed people. “After a while, I was elected to the Event Planning Committee at Samfunnet, and when spring of 2019 came, it felt natural to apply for the job as the Event Planning Assistant for UKA i Ås 2020. Together we built an incredible team and had a lot of fun together.”
However, UKA 2020 was not a festival without obstacles. “The Event Planning Team was ready in 2019, almost a whole year before the Corona pandemic hit Norway. The pandemic made the festival especially challenging and uncertain,” Jørgen explains.
But there were still some highlights in the difficult period. “My best UKA memory ever is from the first concert held during UKA i Ås 2020. The band “Klovner i Kamp” performed, and I could just lean back, relax, and think ‘Yes! We did it’,” says Jørgen with a big smile. “UKA i Ås 2022 will definitely bring back the pre-pandemic UKAspirit.”
