VU Late Night caps first week at WWU

Western Washington University students make KANDI bracelets, had their faces painted, danced in the dark and generally had fun during the Viking Union Late Night event on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. The annual nighttime event welcomes students to Western on the first Friday night of the school year.

KANDI bracelets are made by stringing plastic beads together in unique and personalized ways often containing words and colors that are important to the creator. The bracelets, and sometimes necklaces, are often traded at dance music events as a way of sharing and connecting with other people.

Western students, Allora Maxey, Kylee Stone-Clifford and Maiko Chiba among them, had their faces painted with constellations of colorful, neon dots by Chelle Beautiful face painters during the event. The Chelle Beautiful face painters used neon face paints that would cause their designs to glow under ultraviolet lights.

Students waited in line for over an hour, said Stone-Clifford, but the end result was worth the wait.

Some students used magazine and newspaper clippings to create buttons during the event, while others donned glow sticks and neon face paint to dance under ultraviolet lights during the dance party.

Photos by Kyra Betteridge / WWU Communications and Marketing intern