Sometimes programs at Iowa State allow students to reach out into the community in a unique way. For a group of 6 who are in Entrepreneurship in Human Sciences, an the event management class, that has been the the case as they have been planning the first annual Londonfest in honor of London Underground’s tenth anniversary.

Leah Blankespoor, Iowa State senior and co-leader of the project, said the process of planning the festival started back in January when Jess Clyde of London Underground and Bill Malone of Cafe Diem came into her classroom to present the planning of Londonfest to the students as a possible capstone project. Soon after, interviews were held and a team was formed  to tackle the project.  

Blankespoor was intrigued by the idea of the festival because she had studied abroad in London last fall. She saw Londonfest as an opportunity to bring British culture to Ames.

“I missed London, I missed England, so this would be a really cool way to bring that cultural experience to Ames and to my family who have never been to London,”  Blankespoor said as she expressed what her thoughts were after finding about the opportunity to plan Londonfest.

Since being selected for the project, the team has been hard at work pitching ideas, planning activities, booking acts and they even had to hunt down a ferris wheel.  

The ferris wheel will be brought into the event to further transform Ames and give Main Street a touch of London’s skyline.

“When I think of London I think of the skyline and the London Eye, so we really wanted to recreate that,” Blankespoor said.

To further the London feel, mini events will take place including a fashion show that will help bring a British sense of style into the festival. Blankespoor and her team approached Apparel Merchandising and Design program and models who participated in the ISU fashion show to help with this part of the event.

But if fashion is not really your thing, sports will also be apart of Londonfest as games of Quidditch and Human Foosball will be played. Blankespoor said that human foosball will represent the love for football A.K.A. soccer that comes from across the pond.

“Obviously we can’t import a stadium for soccer, so human foosball seemed the best of both worlds because it’s really exciting to watch and it will also be a new experience to people who haven’t done it before,” Blankespoor said.

Also, food trucks, a beer garden, a stilt walker, activities for kids and live music from local bands and DJ Elliot Thompson will fill out the rest of the day.

Blankespoor and her team are trying their hardest to make Londonfest a hit that will return to Ames for years to come. Plus, Blankespoor hopes this event will help ISU students visit Main Street and interact with other members of the Ames community.

“We believe that there is so much untapped potential on Main Street and we hope people will venture out there more,” Blankespoor said. 

On top of all that, this event has helped the planning students gain a feel of what they will be doing in their future careers. Blankespoor said that much of the class work in the event managing program involves planning hypothetical events, so planning Londonfest gave this group of students a chance to experience something more hands on.

“It’s been a really cool experience just to be able to plan an event and see it actually executed,” Blankespoor said. 

Londonfest kicks off this Saturday at 2 p.m. on Main Street and admission is $10. Tickets can be purchased in advance at London Underground’s website. To find out more about the event, visit the Festival’s Facebook Page.