Friends Liz Reed and Alyssa Capper knew exactly what they were looking for heading into ClubFest II.

“Definitely the free stuff, and if I find something I’m interested in, that’s a plus,” said Capper, freshman in biology.

Capper found both at Wednesday night’s Winter ClubFest, where more than 140 organizations crowded the Great Hall of the Memorial Union and an additional 20 or so greek chapters spilled into the MU Trophy Room.

Capper stopped to look at the table of Silver Wings, a small community service group affiliated with the Arnold Air Society.

Capper said she was happy to find the organization – it fell right in with her interests.

“I’ve done work in the past supporting the VA hospital and stuff,” she said. “It’s a good way to volunteer without committing too much time, and it’s small, so I won’t be like one of 200 members.”

Group president Laura Flagg, junior in animal science, and member Katelynn Boothby, sophomore in mathematics, answered questions for those who visited the table.

“It’s hard,” Boothby said.

“We’re kind of biased against because [of] people’s feelings about the military,” Flagg said.

“It’s more of honoring our military, supporting them and promoting its values,” Boothby said.

Still, the two enjoyed the event.

“It’s really busy. And loud,” Flagg said. “It’s good to talk with other people, see what’s out there.”

Another table that caught Capper’s and Reed’s attention was SCUM’s – the Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Majors. To get visitors to their table, SCUM members created smoke, sounded explosive bangs and handed out marshmallows and ice cream frozen by liquid nitrogen. Several times during the night, lines formed behind SCUM’s table for samples of its Oreo ice cream.

“We’ve been doing the ice cream longer than I’ve been in the club,” said Cody Hutcheson, junior in chemistry and club treasurer. “It’s always been a big draw at ClubFest.”

The ice cream worked, at least according freshmen Keeley Hogan and Alyssa Lahr.

“It’s very refreshing,” said Lahr, an apparel merchandising, design and production major. “I might go to the meeting so I can just learn the recipe.”

Groups weren’t limited to just recruiting from their tables. Several had representatives walking around, such as the ISU Crew Club’s Katie Inman.

Inman, junior in elementary education, handed out fliers as she talked with passers-by.

“It’s fun,” she said. “You get turned down, but you get to meet new people and hopefully get a few more members.”

Space was cramped for organizations at the event; most only had half of a table to set up their displays. This was one of the things that set the event off from the first ClubFest, which took place in the fall.

“It’s a little more constricted than ClubFest I,” said Alex Hofstad, junior in marketing and president of the LEGO Club of ISU. “Space is so tight, we’re very limited in what we can do.”

Reed and Capper also preferred the fall event.

“It was better,” Reed said. “There was just more stuff.”

“The club people just didn’t seem as charismatic,” Capper added.