Smoothie Smashdown, a new event to help raise money for Riley Hospital for Children, is scheduled to be on Dec. 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Students can either create teams to make smoothies at the event and compete against other teams, or come individually to taste test. It is $5 to create a team and forms are available in the activities office. Individual tickets are not sold before hand, but can be bought at the door for $2. Cort Post, House of Representatives Cabinet member and senior, said that the main goal of this event is to recruit as many people as possible to come in order for it to be successful.

“I think next year we’ll have a (monetary) goal, but this year it’s just to try and get as many people as possible…We’re still trying to raise money, but this year not as much. (We’re) number-oriented as of now, just trying to get the word out and make it big for this year and next year,” Post said.

According to Post, smoothies aren’t the only activity taking place during the event. Students will also have the opportunity to build gingerbread houses, make decorations and participate in “holiday-spirited” activities. The House of Representatives is currently planning out the last details for these activities.

Post also said that Mohammad Issa, House of Representatives Cabinet member and junior, came up with the idea of Smoothie Smashdown. Issa and his friends had a similar event at a friend’s house one time during their freshman year, and Issa decided he wanted to expand the event to the whole school.

Even though Smoothie Smashdown is a new event, Post said that he believes it will continue on and become more popular over the years.

“We’ll definitely continue it. I think it’s going to be a really fun event and people are just now figuring out what it’s going to be like, so next year is probably when a bigger turn out will happen,” he said.

As for the date of the event, Dec. 11, Post said that even though it is close to the end of the semester, it is the best time to do it due to the holiday theme of the event and the little time and preparation it takes to plan and participate in.

“It was an idea and the big thing in student government this year is if you have an idea, you need to share it and we’ll make it happen. This was just the one weekend we had open. We can fit this in now because it’s not very long and it fits in with the holiday season,” Post said.

According to Post, there is no estimated number of people expected to arrive at the event. The Smoothie Smashdown Facebook group, however, does have around a 100 people attending so far. However, Post said that they (House of Representatives Cabinet) want more people than that and will continue spreading the word about the event throughout the week.

“A personal goal of mine is probably 200 (people attending), but that’s not out of the question,” Post said.  “It is a really fun event and it doesn’t take a lot of time out of your Saturday. So, we might beat that, we might not. Let’s just see what happens.” By Dhruti Patel