{"id":34744,"date":"2015-08-25T14:05:43","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T19:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=34744"},"modified":"2015-08-25T15:33:38","modified_gmt":"2015-08-25T20:33:38","slug":"grape-stomp-among-great-canadian-campus-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2015\/08\/grape-stomp-among-great-canadian-campus-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Grape Stomp among Great Canadian Campus Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Grape

Grape Stomp is Brock's messiest tradition<\/p><\/div>\n

Brock University’s biggest and messiest campus ritual has earned a top ranking in the list of Great Canadian Campus Traditions.<\/p>\n

The annual Brock Grape Stomp – held each September –\u00a0is ranked No. 2 out of nine traditions listed in the current edition of University Affairs, a magazine published by Universities Canada.<\/p>\n

University Affairs editor L\u00e9o Charbonneau said Brock’s Grape Stomp is known throughout the country, thanks to its uniqueness and popularity.<\/p>\n

“The University does a great job of promoting it each year,” he said. “It sounds like a fabulous activity for the students. It looks messy but it also looks like great fun.”<\/p>\n

\"Brock's

Brock's messiest tradition, the annual Grape Stomp<\/p><\/div>\n

Last year nearly 1,000 students stomped grapes, slid through the pulp, laughed and got good and sticky as a way to revel in school spirit while celebrating Niagara’s identity.<\/p>\n

“We bring in a metric tonne of grapes,” said co-founder Kristen Smith, Manager of Student and Community Outreach. “It is the messiest tradition on campus.”<\/p>\n

Participants are purple and covered in grape juice and peels by the end of the event, which this year will be held Sept. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. in Jubilee Court.<\/p>\n

When it all started in 2001, organizers dumped a half tonne of grapes on tarps and Brock staff made up most of the stompers, said co-founder Karen McAllister-Kenny, Director of Recreation Services.<\/p>\n

These days, students sign up in droves.<\/p>\n

McAllister-Kenny said the spectacle has become a rite of passage for Brock students.<\/p>\n

“If you haven’t tried it, you should before you graduate,” she said. “Put it on your bucket list,”<\/p>\n

Early on, Grape Stomp moved from a date in late fall to September, to coincide with the Niagara Wine Festival. It is now a highlight of the University’s Homecoming weekend.<\/p>\n

“The whole campus comes out,” Smith said, noting it draws staff, faculty and alumni as well as students.<\/p>\n

\"grapestomp3\"Charbonneau said Grape Stomp checks all the boxes of a great campus event, earning it a spot among the best in Canada.<\/p>\n

“It’s great to promote these campus traditions,” he said, “and great for the University to foster student spirit and a sense of belonging.”<\/p>\n

Quick Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>What: Grape Stomp<\/p>\n

When: Sept. 18 from noon to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Where: Jubilee Court, Brock University<\/p>\n

How: \u00a0Register at experiencebu.brocku.ca<\/p>\n

Cost: \u00a0Free, but non-perishable food donations are encouraged<\/p>\n

\"grapestomp1\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock University’s biggest and messiest campus ritual has earned a top ranking in the list of Great Canadian Campus Traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":29696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[210,563,295,3276,3275],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34744"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34746,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions\/34746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}