Rising temperatures dried Chamberlain Street on Saturday afternoon, but trucked-in snow paved the street for a farewell to the changing winter season Saturday night.

Hundreds of spectators lined the sidewalks to watch the third annual Campustown Rail Jam, hosted by the ISU Ski and Snowboard Club.

An electric winch pulled the 25 competitors down a snow runway over rails and ramps.

Snowboarders and skiers performed a variety of tricks, the success or failure of which entertained the onlooking crowd.

“It gives us something to do on a cold night in March, you know,” said Mike Bray, senior in marketing and president of the Ski and Snowboard Club. “It’s fun. People enjoy it.”

Music blared on the stretch of Chamberlain Street between Welch and Stanton Avenues, essentially transforming the block into a street party.

The two-and-a-half-hour event was sponsored by local and national businesses and given supplementary funding for insurance by the Government of the Student Body.

“People don’t usually think of Iowa as being a snow-sport state,” said Jake McFarlin, freshman in pre-business and rider in the event. “So it’s just cool to come out and give people something different. There were a lot more people out than I expected to come.”

Last year’s Rail Jam was held on Welch Avenue, but Bray said the city recommended moving Rail Jam to Chamberlain to prevent congestion of the normal bar traffic.

The move also allowed the patio of Club Element, 2401 Chamberlain St., to serve spectators from the community.

Bray, a four-year member of the Ski and Snowboard Club, said the big sponsors for this year’s event helped with the execution. In the past, four-wheelers towed participants toward their jumps, but a winch was provided for this year’s event.

The event is the club’s main source of publicity. Member Allen Vanderwiel, freshman in agricultural engineering, was impressed with his first experience with the event.

“I thought it was great,” Vanderwiel said. “When the crowd got into it when somebody hit something, it was pretty awesome.”