BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) – Taylor Swift became an international powerhouse while performing her Eras Tour around the country this summer. Now South Dakota Swifties will bring the magic of the concert closer to home with T-Swift themed parties in Brookings.
On Friday, the Brookings Public Library is hosting a Taylor Swift Party from 6-8 p.m. CT. Nancy Swanson, the technology services librarian and programing supervisor, said the event is free for all ages and will feature Taylor Swift trivia games, friendship bracelet making, a photo wall, as well as snacks and music.
Jenny Kluck, the young adult program coordinator for the library, said they got the idea for the party after the pair attended the Eras Tour together in Kansas City. They saw other libraries host similar events and thought Brookings would benefit from one as well. Swenson added that Taylor Swift is a way to bring people together.
“What people are searching for now coming out of the pandemic is building a community again,” she said. “I think [Taylor Swift] does that really well as shown by how her fans turn out for these shows and dress up, are warm, friendly and welcoming and I think that’s a fun thing to bring to Brookings.”
Olivia Petrik from South Dakota State University said she plans on attending the event. Petrik is also the founder and president of the SDSU Taylor Swift Society, a student organization dedicated to all things Swift.
On September 5, the student organization is holding a Taylor Swift 101 class where members of the executive team will do a deep-dive on all 10 of Swift’s albums, or “eras.” The one-time class will cover the people, songs and boyfriends from the performer’s 17-year career for the new fans who may not know the extensive T-Swift lore.
Petrik, along with the other members of the executive team, got the chance to see Swift in concert this summer and said the experience was indescribable.
“I’ve been a fan since I was five, but it just never worked out for me to go to a concert before now,” she said. “It was insane. I expected it to be crazy, but I don’t even know the right words that would do her show justice. I don’t think anyone has the vocabulary to even explain it well enough to give it the credit it’s due.”
This will be the Taylor Swift Society’s second year as an organization at SDSU. This year, events planned include game nights with Taylor Swift trivia, presentation nights where members create Taylor Swift-themed slideshows, watch parties on album release days and ornament and “paper ring” making for holidays.
The TSS will meet every other Thursday on the second floor of the University Student Union for their events and meetings. Petrik said they have 60 members, but over 200 people on their email list.
Last summer, Petrik saw other universities start Taylor Swift clubs and knew there would be enough Swifties at SDSU to make a club happen.
The two Taylor Swift events in Brookings come as Swift finished the U.S. leg of her tour and announced a film of the concert will hit theaters October 13. The film will be shown locally at both the Century 14 and Century East theaters in Sioux Falls. Dakota Cinema in Madison will also be showing the film October 13-15 twice a day.
The two Taylor Swift events in Brookings come as Swift finished the U.S. leg of her tour and announced a film of the concert will hit theaters October 13. CBS News reports that the Federal Reserve said Swift’s tour boosted the economy of every city she toured in with ticket sales, travel, outfits and food. The Recording Academy, also known as the Grammy’s, said the Eras Tour is on track of being the highest grossing world tour of all time.
“I don’t think people even comprehend that she’s on stage performing non-stop for three hours straight,” Petrik said of Swift’s impressive shows. “Then for her to be rereleasing music that everyone has, for the most part, already heard and for them to chart so consistently is insane.”
