The 32nd annual Black Squirrel Festival will take place Friday at the Student Green and Risman Plaza from 2-8 p.m.

“We’re really excited to be able to utilize the green, the new stage, all of the new plaza renovation. I think that will be really nice,” said Jennifer Gunnoe, associate director at the Center for Student Involvement.

Musical artists performing include rap group iii Kingz, fusion band Ancestral Warship and R&B artist Kennedy Blaq, Gunnoe said.

There will be indie and acoustic acts and a variety of vendors.

Gunnoe said there will be tables set up for everything from cellphone companies to hair salons, such as Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design, located at 1317 S. Water St.

Black Squirrel Festival promotes student media on campus, said Jensen DeArment, senior psychology major and street marketing director at Black Squirrel Radio.

DeArment said she will be working at the Black Squirrel Radio table during the event. Promoters from the station will be handing out fliers about DJ auditions and talking about the station’s programming schedule.

Quaker Steak & Lube will provide boneless wings, soft pretzels, hot dogs, chips and soda, said Aaron Karns, manager of the Student Center location.

“We gear the food more toward something that’s edible on the go,” Karns said.

The Center for Student Involvement, which hosts movie nights at the Kiva, will be showing “Monsters University” on the Student Green at 9 p.m.

Whereas BlastOff is more geared toward freshmen, Black Squirrel Festival is a way to welcome all students back on campus, Gunnoe said.

“We host it because it’s a long-standing tradition. It’s beloved,” she said. “When you’re in your 32nd year, you have parents of current students that remember the Black Squirrel Festival.”

Contact Patrick Williams at [email protected].