Cultur x-plosjon
Cultur X-plosjon
Journalist: Jakob Bruun Ånonsen
Photographer: Frøya Kristiane Torp og Januja Santhadayalan
Translator: Ida Haraldstad
Web distributor: Julie Anine Strømme
On Friday, April 28th, it was finally time for Culture X-plosion in Festsalen at Samfunnet, an annual event where associations and students come together to raise money for UnitedAid. The associations once again showed off their playful and artistic sides, and the generosity was especially great at this year’s auction. The students in Ås collected an enormous 44,602 kroner, which is the largest amount ever raised
Despite this success, it wasn’t easy being a guest or volunteer at this year’s Culture X-plosion. The evening was troubled by sound problems, and the hall had been set up with a central aisle that no one was allowed to walk in. It wasn’t easy for drunk audience members to walk straight when trying to sit down, but apparently it was even harder for the sound and lighting technicians to resist the urge to throw their equipment at slow passersby. The technicians were also not helped by the noise level in the building, as much of the audience was letting loose at the semester’s final party, resulting in lots of chatter at the back about exam stress, the weather, and how few people understand just how insane Erling Haaland is in the Premier League right now.
With an impressive five community service workers at the event, the after-party also got a bit wild, and as both a bartender and journalist, this was one of my more hectic evenings of volunteering
The evening’s hosts were Anna Vedelden Robberstad and Kristoffer Bovard Rønning. They made a heroic effort in the war against a noisy audience and unclear sound. But despite the poor conditions, it was still a fantastic show! The most important item of the evening, where the money was going, was unfortunately lost in the noise, but that surprisingly didn’t stop people from being engaged. After the initial formalities were over, it was time for the culture show.
The first association up was Åsblæsten, who time and time again showed us that marching bands are cool and woke up the audience with “Everytime we touch”. Afterwards, Hunkatten took the stage. They’re not a marching band, but they were a surprisingly competent hip hop group, delivering an awesome rap. Over Rævne then tried to impress a lucky audience member with “Einkvan Odelsgut”. It was a bit boring to watch, but fortunately they made up for it by looking very handsome.
DÅs gave good promotion for their auction item, which was an exclusive dance for the buyer. They really flexed their muscles with a convincing show. This was followed by less convincing dancing performed by Nordisk Landskamp, who made up for their lack of entertainment talent with extreme athleticism and energy. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Hankattene unexpectedly offered themselves with a thrilling and scantily clad K-pop show. Collegium Alfa then took the stage, and I don’t think anyone really understood what was happening on stage. However, it seemed like Rævne was ready for “TEQUILA” when they managed to double the current bid during the auction. Unity took over the baton and delivered a rock show with delicious energy. However, the lyrics were written in a room with extremely low levels of estrogen. Confusion spread when the stage suddenly transformed into a drag show. Who could this be? NGA, of course. A well-delivered performance!
The ladies of F&F performed a line dance worthy of giving BB Cowboys goosebumps, before IVAR stepped onto the stage with an amorous version of “Back to Black”. Koneklubben played on their bold side and delivered a great dance. Anything but a new round of “La det gro” deserves a 6 out of 6 rating in my book. After that, the only 1 out of 6 rating of the evening followed. Ås Campingstol sent out a solitary camping enthusiast who knocked over the camping chair, delivered three jokes that were at the bottom of the barrel, then folded the chair and left. The only thing worse than Ås Campingstol on stage was Ås Campingstol as audience members. I would like to call this an honest attempt, but it was not.
It was not just the associations that got to show off. The hosts Anna and Kristoffer were among the evening’s highlights. They were cheeky and entertaining, and they kept the audience at the edge of their seats. They were also good at raising money. Every time a new fundraising goal was reached, the show was enriched with increasingly boundary-pushing activities. After 5000 kroner, a couple of tubes of self-tanner were to be smeared over a few scantily clad ladies. The next milestone involved waxing a Unity guy’s genitals. Finally, a shocking performance of “Euphoria”, delivered by the hosts themselves, donning shock collars. They sang with convincing passion and delivered an electric performance. Some audience members got the opportunity to verify that the shock collars were as shocking as Kristoffer expressed through his innovative dance moves.
And they were.
Even Brede Sillerud from the United Aid board also wanted to convey the following after the evening, “All in all, it was an amazing party night with lots of good entertainment and great engagement among the registered acts and audience. It was very cool to see such generosity among the students in the audience, where there were fierce bidding wars on many of the acts. This year’s edition of Culture X-plosion broke all previous records. The board of UnitedAid would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who participated, both audience members, volunteers at Samfunnet, and everyone who was onstage. We also want to thank Samfunnet in Ås for giving us the opportunity to organize such events.” An impressive summary, considering that he was the one who had his behind brutally shaved on stage that same evening.
The evening will be remembered as a wild and chaotic auction, where both associations, presenters, and the audience bid shamelessly on themselves. However, there is little about the event that shows compassion for children in need. Let just hope that they will appreciate the gift.
