Cotton candy, tug-of-war and break dancing -- there are few better ways to get freshmen excited for homecoming week. All this and more was found yesterday evening at the First-Year Frenzy in East Halls.

"I feel like a little kid at the fair," Lisa Bizal (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said as she marveled at the slick moves of the break dancing troupe inside Findlay Commons.

Although this is the third year First-Year Frenzy has been scheduled to kick off homecoming week, it is only the second time it has taken place -- it was cancelled last year because of rain.

This year, everything went according to plan.

The festivities began outside in the East Halls quad, where teams of primarily first-year students competed in classic childhood games including potato sack races, a three-legged race and a "celebrity match" tug-of-war.

The "celebrity match" pitted the overall committee of homecoming court against the candidates for homecoming king and queen.

Inside the commons, the king and queen hopefuls passed out handbills to get the word out about their candidacy and homecoming in general.

Matt Jennings (senior-economics) and Ben Jabara (senior-information sciences and technology) were unsure who were favorites for this year's court.

"Right now, it's anyone's game," Jennings said. "As of right now, I don't think there's a front-runner."

The voting period for homecoming began at midnight yesterday and will conclude Friday. Last year, overall committee members said between 4,000 and 5,000 votes were cast for homecoming court, more than were cast in the recent UPUA student government election.

"I wish more students showed as much passion for UPUA as they did for homecoming king and queen," Jen Rosenberg, king and queen overall, said.

While campaigning for homecoming court was an important part of the event, it didn't come at the expense of any enjoyment for the freshmen in attendance.

"It's really fun," Cailey Wolford (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said. "The break dancers put on a good show."

Not everyone passing through the commons knew about the event, although most were happy to join in.

"It was a great surprise!" Jamie Saam (freshman-marketing) said. "I was just walking by from dinner."

The event was also used by student groups, predominantly sororities, to promote interest among freshmen.

Sam Sirzyk, a candidate for homecoming queen and the vice president of membership for Panhellenic Council, decided to run for the homecoming court with the intent of being a role model for future greek recruits.

"That's why I wanted to be on the court in the first place," she said.

Although the event featured the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Dance Marathon morale dance, free popcorn and an appearance by the Nittany Lion, it was the cotton candy that garnered the most praise.

"Cotton candy is the best," Lynette Davis (freshman-theatre) said. "It's like sweet little nothings on a summer day."