Prairie View students rushed into the MSC Auditorium April 21 to participate in a night of entertainment and to witness the distribution of awards to the nominees.
The PV Choice Awards was themed “Rio de Janeiro” and students were invited to experience a Brazilian based festival.
“It was a collaboration between me and last year’s chair Troy Charleston. Everyone always does the same thing and we wanted to bring something different this year. Rio de Janeiro is fun, festive and colorful. It’s another culture and we wanted to take Prairie View to another culture,” said junior social work major and event chair LaTasha Woodson.
The award ceremony got off to a late start. The run-through and the sound checks were still taking place when students arrived. Krystal Pitre, a communications major, felt that the event was very conventional when it comes to Prairie View’s events. “Typical Prairie View function,” said Pitre straightforwardly, “untimely and unorganized.”
Despite the late start of the awards ceremony, many students were patient and enjoyed themselves listening to some music provided by DJ Mr. Rogers.
The choice awards eventually began and commenced with a dance routine performed by the Black Foxes and other volunteers dressed in their showgirl costume attire.
The host and hostess set the tone for the event. Tameka Dye, communications major, and theater major Kellen Kidd, made a dynamic entrance. Kidd did an impersonation of Lil Wayne wearing a red bandana with phony dreads. Dye came out behind him as his featured singer. Their entry elated the crowd. “I loved hosting the show,” said Dye, “I always wanted to do an event like this and it turned out as I planned. Kellen and I tried to the best to our abilities.”
Various awards were given out during the ceremony. The Eta Gamma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. won National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternity and the Eta Beta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. won for Pan sorority. Michael Dixon won Male Vocalist of the Year, and for his acceptance speech, he and Jermeyko Anderson and Ryan “Rudy” Knight sang a cappella. Demarcus Bumpers took home the Laugh Out Loud award and Ms. Pat received the award for Female Staff of the Year.
“You know the little old woman in the shoe,” said Pat, bursting into tears as she accepted her award. “I got so many children I don’t know what to do.”
The ceremony even had numerous performances from talented Prairie View students in between the segments. Some of the performers included the Prime Time Click, Dourrough and Cash Capone, Get Fresh Crew and a Craig “June” Donnell and Knight duet. There were also short spoof clips shown at the event.
PV Choice Awards committee members were very proud of the event and the turn out.
“The outcome of it was beautiful because so many people came out,” said Woodson. “People actually stayed to watch the whole show, so that was the highlight for me.”
The overall atmosphere of the show was laid back and humorous. This was a campus event where you could be amused from every angle.
“I think that it was a very well put together show,” said Courtney Johnson a criminal justice major. “And it was funny and entertaining. It was the best thing that happened on the yard this year.”