The brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity will take turns rolling a barrel from Syracuse to Binghamton, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Friday’s 88-mile relay marks the 28th Annual Keg Roll.
The fraternity plans to start at Syracuse around 4 a.m. in the parking lot of a McDonald’s. From there it will roll the keg to Route 11 and follow it to Binghamton.
According to Michael Sokol, senior vice president of TKE, the event usually takes 10 to 15 hours, and this year the goal is to finish in 12.
A van filled with brothers drives in front of the runner, while the rest of the brothers follow behind. When that brother gets tired, the van pulls over and someone goes out to relieve him.
“I had to go to Syracuse to get official permits made from state troopers to authorize our event, and then also had to go contact every district to pass through to let them know we were running under 11 [mph],” Sokol said.
A police car leads the procession at certain times to ward off any potential problems.
“People honk at us to wave, smile and show their support when they see our banner,” Sokol said. “It’s always been a really smooth event.”
For the first time, the finish line will include a barbecue. In previous years, the brothers took a photo at the finish line, but there was no celebration.
The goal of the barbecue is to bring everyone together to celebrate the culmination of a whole semester’s work, said Michael O’Connell, executive vice president of TKE.
The barbecue is open to the campus community and will be held in the Dickinson Amphitheatre starting at 5 p.m. There will be live music featuring The Binghamtonics, Dylan Campbell and The Jennys.
According to Aaron Cohn, the Student Association’s vice president for programming, the keg roll barbeque has helped turn Spring Fling into a weekend event.
“The theme this year has been bigger and better,” Cohn said. “So anything to add to the entire experience we’ve embraced.”
It is co-sponsored by Off Campus Community College and Late Nite Binghamton with food catered by Sodexo.
TKE has gathered close to 90 sponsors who gave a monetary donation or raffle prize of at least $100 in order to have their name on the banner. Sponsors include Rocco J. Testani Inc., Student City, M.Y. Boutique, Mario’s Pizza, Chabad at Binghamton, The Rathskeller and different sororities and fraternities on campus.
This year the money is going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but the fraternity has donated to different charities in the past. These charities include the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Louis Allen Memorial Fund, started by the family of a fraternity brother who died in Iraq.