Plans are underway for the Best Week Ever welcome week Aug. 22-26 at Texas A&M University-Texarkana hosted by the Campus Activities Board and the Office of Student Life.
Celeste McNeil, assistant director of Student Life at A&M-Texarkana, said the annual welcome week will include something for everyone, with events ranging from a trivia night, lawn games, music, magic, bingo, an ice cream social and a movie night.
One of the highlights of Best Week Ever will be the Spotlight on Texarkana Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the University Center lawn. More than 50 student organizations, banks, restaurants and other local businesses will be on hand to showcase all that Texarkana has to offer. Free frozen yogurt will be provided by Bearded Brothers Yogurt. The event is open to the public.
Three other events of interest to the public include Party Like a Pirate hosted by the John F. Moss Library on Monday, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m.; Music, Magic and Mayhem on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. in Eagle Hall and and an outdoor movie feature “Now You See Me 2” on Friday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. on the University Center lawn.
Music, Magic and Mayhem features Jackie Tohn, a singer, songwriter and comedian, performing alongside Joseph Réohm, a world-class magician.
Tohn is a standup comic/musical comedian, actress and singer/songwriter. She was recently cast to play Gilda Radner in director David Wains, “A Futile and Stupid Gesture,” alongside Will Forte, Domhnall Gleeson, Joel McHale and others. Her recent movies include, “CHiPS,” “Bad Roomies” and “Sisters.” Tohn was a finalist in the Top 24 of “American Idol” season 8. She has also guest starred on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Rules of Engagement,” “The Sopranos,” “House of Lies,” “Castle” and “The Nanny” when she was younger.
For the past two decades Joseph Réohm has honed his skills at various magical pursuits, from intricate close-up magic in a small intimate setting, to performing in arenas with crowds of over 14,000 people and everything in between. Aside from his regular show, this expert stage manipulator amazes audiences with several unique specialty acts that he has created; employing doves, CDs, illusion and any other object he can get his hands on. Macy’s, Microsoft, NBA and Costco are just a few that sought out Joseph to entertain at their functions. He’s received national accolades for both close-up and stage magic and made several TV appearances on networks such as NBC Universal, E!, TrueTV and SyFy.
“Now You See Me 2” is a 2016 American thriller film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Ed Solomon. A sequel to the 2013 film “Now You See Me,” it starts Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.
The complete schedule of events for Best Week Ever is as follows:
Monday, Aug. 22
· Classes begin
· 11 a.m.-2 p.m. – Party Like a Pirate – John F. Moss Library, University Center
· 3-4 p.m. – “How to Start a Student Organization” workshop – TEXAR Room, University Center 116
· 6:30-8 p.m. – “The Experience” with Ryan Penneau – Eagle Hall, University Center
Tuesday, Aug. 23
· 11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Spotlight on Texarkana – University Center Lawn
· 11 a.m.-3 p.m. – Joe’s Spray Can Art – University Center Lawn
· 3-5 p.m. – Success Center Open House – University Center330
· 6-8 p.m. – First Year Experience Trivia Night – Eagle Hall, University Center
Wednesday, Aug. 24
· 10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Photo Dry Erase Boards – University Center Eagle Lounge
· 3-5 p.m. – Campus Recreation Lawn Olympics – University Center Lawn
· 7-9 p.m. – Music, Magic and Mayhem – Eagle Hall, University Center
Thursday, Aug. 25
· 12-1 p.m. – Greek Life Informational – TEXAR Room, University Center 116
· 2-4 p.m. – Big Money Bingo – Eagle Hall, University Center
· 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Criminal Justice “Heat Wave” ice cream social – University Center Deck
Friday, Aug. 26
· 12-1:30 p.m. – Student Veterans Association “Just Desserts” social – Library Atrium, University Center
· 12-1 p.m. – “How to Start a Student Organization” workshop – TEXAR Room, University Center 116
· 8-10 p.m. – Outdoor Movie – Now You See Me 2 – University Center Lawn
