GooseFest to replace 2019 Warwick Summer Party in Term 3

GooseFest, a new goose and duck appreciation festival, is set to replace the 2019 Warwick Summer Party in Term 3 to celebrate bird life at the University of Warwick.

The news comes after Warwick was ranked as the fourth highest for university duck density. The number of geese inhabiting the campus has also been taken into account. Together, they inspired the festival.

GooseFest will offer a range of arts and educational activities, as well as a fully vegetarian food fair, a pond-themed water park and fairground rides around campus, including a haunted house named “Goosebumps” and carousel called “Duck, Duck, Goose”.

Mallards about Warwick campus – a common sight for many students. (Image: Dunnock_D / Flickr)

There will also be a variety of music performances, which will feature a duck and geese choir. The full lineup is to be announced, but songs by 1970s band Ducks Deluxe have been guaranteed.

Homage will be paid to some of the most famous birds from popular culture through film screenings and book readings, such as Donald and Daffy Duck, Marvel’s Howard the Duck, and Beatrice Potter’s Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Those attending the festival are also encouraged to dress up in bird-related costumes.

Although the exact date of the festival is yet to be confirmed, it has been revealed that most events will take place at Lakeside, where the bird population is most prominent.

The event will also carry an environmental focus, highlighting some of the dangers that the most threatened species of waterfowl – listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – across the world face.

Food outlets on campus will pull any duck dishes on their menus for the month GooseFest takes place in to limit student concerns that campus ducks and geese have been used in the cooking of the dishes.

GooseFest has received positive feedback overall from students. One second-year student commented: “I think it’s a fantastic idea! These graceful creatures need as much recognition as possible.

“I think it’s a great mix between nature and music and being in an open space is exactly what we need after months of exams and deadlines.”

Andrei Dogaru, a third-year Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) student, also said: “I always thought it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen; I am fairly certain that the goose population on campus is higher than the student population, so it is only fitting.”

I have a hard time trying to distinguish between a goose and a Warwick student

– Andrei Dogaru

“Plus, sometimes I have a hard time trying to distinguish between a goose and a Warwick student,” Mr Dogaru added.

One student raised: “It’s good to see that the reign of ducks is finally over, seeing as the event is called ‘GooseFest’ instead of ‘DuckFest’. I’d also like to see The Dirty Duck renamed ‘The Greasy Goose’ – for far too long duck propaganda has proliferated across campus.”

Some have disagreed with the festival. A second-year History and Politics student shared: “Ever since a pigeon mistook me for the lavatory in primary school amidst a passionate football game, I have always had my – let’s be charitable –  reservations about birds.”

“Arriving at Warwick, I instantly felt an air of hostility, seeing the birds lurking around campus with their chins held up high,” he described. “This festival is unacceptable and the University should be doing more for the welfare of students such as myself.”

***The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that this article was published on 1 April and was in fact an April Fools. While there will (unfortunately) be no GooseFest, the Warwick Summer Party is set to go ahead, details of which can be found here.***