“It was funny when I was tired and everyone was running; we were all still working together to get something done,” said Flushing freshman Alex Lockhart.

The Quest for Central Spirit Scavenger Hunt throughout campus Monday night gave its participants a workout while searching for clues.

The hunt was part of the Maroon Cup and Golden Goblet competition during Homecoming week.

Twenty teams of ten members each took part in the hunt. The hunt took place in two waves, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m. Teams took about 45 minutes to an hour to complete the hunt.

The scavenger hunt began at Finch Fieldhouse and led teams from the Towers to Warriner Mall, several other buildings, making a final stop at the library before finishing at Finch.

“We probably ran two miles, easily,” said Flushing freshman Melanie Smith.

The challenges included a baseball bat relay race, a hula-hoop race, and ice-block melting race, Sudoku and cryptography, a basketball challenge and a ‘buried treasure’ challenge, where one member had to eat through a whipped cream pie to find a token.

“Definitely eating the whipped cream pie — I was looking for a coin that I almost ate,” said Prudenville sophomore Andrew Kreiner. Smith was right, as the route her group followed was about 2.8 miles. Smith was part of a group of third floor Thorpe Hall students and decided to do the hunt last-minute.

“I like how we all came together at the end, because yesterday we didn’t have a team,” said New Boston freshman Shawn Knight, who organized the Thorpe Hall group.

Some students joined the hunt because of its similarity to reality television.

“It’s kind of like the Amazing Race, where you do a challenge and get a clue, and we get tokens when we’re done,” said Ohio freshman Allie Hendricks.

Kreiner organized a group of ten from Barnes Hall, which consisted mostly of sophomores.

The teams that returned first got the most points, but all teams received participation points.

Comedian Craig Robinson, a regular cast member of “The Office,” will perform a stand-up comedy performance at 7 p.m. Saturday in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium to wrap up the week’s homecoming events.

Tickets are $5 for students and $15 for the public, and are available at the CMU Box Office or at cmuboxofice.cmich.edu.

“We saw movies he was in and looked into him and thought he would be a great act to come to us. Some of it was students talking about him, and we thought it would be a good way to end Homecoming week,” said CMU Program Board junior comedy chairwoman and Pinconning junior Crysta Heckman.

Robinson may be a familiar face to some, for his role as Darryl, the warehouse manager in “The Office,” and appearances in films such as “Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express” and “Zack and Miri Make A Porno.”

Robinson also will appear in four movies in 2010, one of which will be “Shrek Forever After,” and the upcoming 2009 release, “Post Grad.”

“He’s pretty popular in movies within the last year and students are excited to see a familiar face on campus,” Heckman said.

The appearance of Robinson seems to have generated interest among students.

Heckman expects attendance at around 500 for the performance.

“As far as I know, he will be popular — he’s from a well-known show and the feedback so far is that people are looking forward to the show. It not only provides the students, but alumni with something to do later in the evening,” said Coordinator of Student Activities Damon Brown. “The program tries to bring in big names, like Demetri Martin, and we always want to bring in names students know.”

While that sounds like a small number in today’s terms, it was the standard in 1864.

Most of the re-enactors at the Fifth Annual Mid-Michigan Civil War Muster easily popped two shots in that time period, but only a few were doing the ‘good soldier’ standard of three.

The weekend-long reenactment was held in Deerfield Nature Park, 2425 W. Remus Road.

The Sunday battle reenactment was based on a Nov. 23, 1864, skirmish in Mount Pleasant, Tenn., in which a refugee camp was found by Confederate and Union army detachments. Both forces fought over the ground and ended with a temporary truce.

The Muster was organized by the Tenth Michigan Infantry, a group dedicated to advancing knowledge and appreciation of U.S. history.

The way it was

Re-enactor Michele Petrie portrayed Susie King Taylor, the first black woman to serve with the 33rd Colored Troop of South Carolina. Petrie assisted the surgeon in the field hospital, removed bullets, assisted with amputations, dressed wounds and wrote letters for soldiers, she said.

Petrie and her husband have been active in the Tenth Michigan Infantry for four years. They were encouraged to join by a co-worker of Petrie’s, and enlisted after they saw a reenactment in Shepherd.

“We actually do things the way they did back then,” Petrie said. “We cook on open fires.”

The Infantry also has a generational influence.

“My dad started the group in 1976, so I’ve been doing this 33 years. I started as a bugler and am now the colonel,” said re-enactor Dave Rowley.

Rowley’s children also are active in the Tenth Michigan Infantry.

Rowley challenged some of the re-enactors to a speed-shooting contest and taught a few basic Civil War-era drills to those in the crowd who wanted to join in, such as teaching them to march.

Tom Plachta of Mount Pleasant came with his wife, Laura, and children, Tommy and Dominic.

“This is a good way to see what went on, and it’s a good way to spend a sunny day and learn something.
And what boy doesn’t want to watch gun shooting?” Plachta said.

In addition to the steadfast re-enactors, some made the annual pilgrimage to the Muster.

“I have come here for four years. The most interesting thing was the dialogue during the battle instead of just actions,” said Mount Pleasant West Intermediate School eighth grader Allie Strong. “It’s first hand experience on how it was then and how they have camps set up and the way they are dressed, too.”

The Tenth Michigan Infantry’s Civil War reenactment will present two battle recreations from 1864, one from Buzzard’s Roost, GA and a skirmish in Mount Pleasant, Tenn.

The reenactment also draws people into the park, located at 2425 W. Remus Road.

“The last couple of years we have seen quite a number of people, some local TV stations and draws people into the park who might not know it’s there, and hopefully might become regular visitors,” said Park Supervisor Mike Marsh.

The reenactment will have the two battle recreations, both at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. In addition to the battles, there will be a public drill, artillery demonstrations and a period church service.

From an academic standpoint, the reenactment could be a powerful lesson.

“On a scale of one to 10 of how educational it is, I’d say an eight or nine, depending on the size of the reenactment, maybe a nine if it were a larger battle like Shiloh or Gettysburg,” said assistant professor of history Randall J. Doyle.

Doyle believes there are lessons to be learned from people who have such a strong interest in history.

“These help show the commitment that was shown by both sides, how difficult the war truly was, and how it was a lot of hand to hand combat and the individuals who participated were very dedicated, that was part of why it lasted so long,” Doyle said.

Although history buffs might enjoy the event, it might not be so enticing to others.

“I think it would be interesting to see what goes on at something like this, to see what life was really like. I don’t know if I’d go unless I had to, though, but I’m sure it would be cool if I actually went,” said Allegan freshman Allison Parliament.

The festival, which begins at 10 a.m. today, showcases a variety of music and arts.

Bands and musicians will be performing folk, bluegrass, Cajun, Celtic and western music and an array of artisans will offer everything from pottery to jewelry.

“The second stage is in the evening geared toward a younger crowd,” said Wheatland Music Organization Board Member Kim Croy.

She said many of the artists are well-known within their genres across the state.

Bruce Gartner, a member of Old-Time music band “Rhythm Billies,” said students are a steady crowd.

“When I started coming (in 1980), I was part of that demographic, there always seem to have been students,” he said.

Aside from music and arts, the festival is offering square, salsa and swing dance instruction.

“A lot of festivals wither out because they are so specific to a demographic, but Wheatland keeps refreshing,” Gartner said.

He said there is something for everyone at the festival, and even people in their eighties and nineties make the annual trip.

On Friday night, a dance is held and “you look out across a sea of faces and you think that half of these are student age,” Gartner said.

The festival seems to owe this turnout partially to its close proximity to two large universities.

“There have been lots of college-age students, from both Central and Ferris in the past,” Croy said.

This year marks 36 years of traditional entertaining. It has changed its location once, and was originally started to fund a food co-op by volunteers. The organization now operates as a non-profit and is run by year-round volunteers.

The farm is located at 7251 50th Ave., in Remus. Tickets are $75 by phone with a $3 service charge and $100 at the gates. Tickets for Sunday are $25 and can be purchased beginning 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Festivities conclude 8 p.m. Sunday.