Dillo Day will be popping, but not just because of the music.

Dillo Bubbles is aiming to foster an inclusive community through the simple act of finding and blowing bubbles during Dillo Day, said Weinberg junior Claudia Hentschel, the event’s co-organizer. The idea started as a joke among friends last year but is now a University-funded event, she said.

“We saw Dillo Bubbles as something that could be accessible to everybody and just be purely fun,” Hentschel said. “It was really fun for us, and when other people got into it last year, that kind of reinforced that it was something that we should do again.”

Students will be hunting for bottled bubble solution hidden around the Lakefill as part of the event, which is organized by Hentschel and Communication junior Sofia Kuta. The event is funded by Northwestern’s Be the Change Grant, and is the only event funded by the grant that is directly happening in conjunction with Dillo Day, said Tracey Gibson-Jackson, assistant director of Student Organizations and Activities.

The grant provides funding for students who are trying to “re-imagine” the campus through creativity, community building and beautification projects, Gibson-Jackson said. She said Dillo Bubbles will be a stress-free and “all-inclusive” event for students who want to have fun. Gibson-Jackson said Dillo Bubbles will use the $75 grant to buy bubble solution.

“We thought it was really cool to help build community especially since Dillo is something that most of the student body identifies with,” she said. “They’re going to be out there spreading bubbles and really just bringing the community together.”

Dillo Bubbles also supports the Students Organizations and Activities office’s goal of creating “barrier-free engagement” for students, Gibson-Jackson said. The office supports open events like this, because students often have difficulties getting involved with student organizations because of auditions and applications, she said.

The event first started last year as a joke between Hentschel, Kuta and their friends as a way to further enjoy Dillo Day, Hentschel said. They realized how interested other people were in the activity when the private event started circulating among other friends of friends, Hentschel said. Now that Dillo Bubbles is a University-funded event, they hope to make it an annual activity, she said.

In addition to the bubble solution hunt, the organizers plan to have a table on the Lakefill in the late afternoon equipped with a bubble machine, bubble ropes and snacks, Kuta said. Interactive content and graphics — such as photoshopped images of Dillo Day headliners in bubbles — will be posted on the event’s Facebook page as well. They have even pushed personal branding by developing a logo, Dillo shirts and laptop stickers, Kuta said.

Kuta said Dillo Bubbles appeals to students because it reminds them of their childhood. She said blowing bubbles is an activity that is enjoyable for everyone, no matter their age.

“I hope they just walk away thinking that this was a fun addition to their Dillo Day experience,” Kuta said.

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