Students had the opportunity to unwind the weekend before their first week of classes as College Hill was transformed into a makeshift water park, complete with a slip and slide.

This past Saturday, Aug. 19, the College Hill Partnership hosted the second annual Welcome Week Block Party.

In addition to the slip and slide, the event’s premier attraction, the block party also featured a dunk tank and carnival games, as well as free Insomnia cookies and snow cones.

“I think the biggest thing is we want to make new UNI students know the Hill is a great, safe place to go and a great place for students to hang out,” said Kathryn Sogard, executive coordinator for the College Hill Partnership.

Sogard went on to say that this year’s block party had a better turnout than last year’s event and that much of that success was due to the work of their volunteers.

“We couldn’t do it without all our volunteers,” Sogard said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

The College Hill Partnership is a non-profit organization that primarily focuses on revitalizing and promoting College Hill.

According to Sogard, the organization hopes to continue hosting a block party during welcome week every year in the near future.