Stetson University’s spring 2012 HatterPalooza music festival will feature Jack’s Mannequin and other bands in a live concert, 3-10 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, in downtown DeLand. HatterPalooza, which is open to the public, is hosted by Stetson’s Hatter Productions and the MainStreet DeLand Association.

The HatterPalooza main stage will be outside on West Indiana Avenue, in front of the Athens Theatre. DeLand vendors will be set up outside selling food and drink. There will be a beer garden, as well as activities and fun photo opportunities for all ages.

Local bands will begin performing at 3 p.m. At 6 p.m., Bon-Journey will open for Jack’s Mannequin, paying tribute to Bon Jovi and Journey. Jack’s Mannequin will take the stage at 8 p.m.

Chosen by Stetson students in a poll distributed by Hatter Productions, top Billboard rock artist Jack’s Mannequin will be the headline act. Formed in 2004, Jack’s Mannequin is an American rock band from Orange County, Calif. Featuring pianist and singer Andrew McMahon, Jack’s Mannequin released the album, Everything in Transit, in August 2005. The album peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200. The Glass Passenger was released in 2008, sold 49,000 copies in its first week and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The Resolution was released as the first single and charted at No. 27 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Tickets for HatterPalooza are available for purchase online at www.stetsontickets.com. Public admission will be $15. Stetson student, faculty and staff tickets will be $5. Stetson alumni tickets will be $10. All prices will increase $5 the day of show. Tickets are available for purchase on Stetson’s campus, in the Dean’s Office, Room 201 of the Carlton Union Building, and will be available at many downtown businesses in DeLand.

HatterPalooza is Stetson’s spring special event for the university community, as Stetson transitions to a fall schedule for Homecoming. Even though Hatter football games won’t begin until fall 2013, this new fall Homecoming tradition will begin Nov. 2-4, 2012, celebrating the reunions of the following Stetson classes: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007. The Stetson Alumni Association will officially host fall Homecoming.

“Alumni are welcome to attend and participate in HatterPalooza, but the official Homecoming will be in the fall,” said Colleen Cooper, director of Alumni Relations at Stetson. The Alumni Relations Office plans to notify the Stetson alumni who live in central Florida about the March 17 HatterPalooza music festival.

For more information about HatterPalooza, visit http://www.stetson.edu/hatterproductions/Hatter_Productions/Welcome.html or contact Kelly O’Hara, Office of Student Involvement/Hatter Productions, at [email protected].

By Olivia Sorrells ’14, student intern in Stetson University Marketing