Two very different campus clubs are working together to help build Carleton’s arts community.
On Oct. 20, the Metal Ravens and the Carleton University Glee Club will be teaming up to organize a Halloween-themed open mic night at Oliver’s Pub on campus. The night will feature performances from members of both clubs, as well as other Carleton students.
“I would say [it will be] a good mix of musical subcultures and more popular stuff,” said Amy Foster, a fifth-year child studies major and president of the Glee Club. “I don’t think anybody has to worry about going and it being super obscure.”
The Metal Ravens and the Glee Club have worked together before. Last year they worked together to organize Music Culture Week, which usually takes place sometime during the winter semester.
Zack Budge is a fourth-year environmental science student at Carleton and social media director and booking manager of the Metal Ravens. He said Music Culture Week was about “bringing together all the arts and music students at Carleton.”
According to Budge, these music events have several benefits that people can take advantage of.
“[They’re] good for using your brain and destressing and it’s a great way to meet people,” he said.
Foster said part of the reason the two clubs are working together is to reach out to more students.
“We found that it works really well to get numbers if we do collaborations, so part of it is we’re really interested in building the Carleton music community,” said Foster. “There’s a lot of lesser known clubs, especially for music.”
The club has existed for around a decade, and they also work alongside the Carleton Musical Theatre Society on events such as their own Music Culture Week.
For Foster, joining glee club was how she made friends when she first came to Ottawa.
“It’s kind of been my home away from home and it’s kind of how I have any friends honestly,” said Foster. “Like yes, my program’s fine, but I didn’t really find people I clicked with in residence or in my program.”
According to Foster, joining a club can help people through tough times.
“I think clubs are really important for that because of the social connections that develop and the support you can get from that at a vulnerable time.”
Photo by Meagan Casalino
