College Park welcomed reality TV star Nic Vansteenberghe on Oct. 1 to kick off the month.Â
Vansteenberghe, a cast member of season seven of Love Island USA, stopped at local bar Terrapin’s Turf. His visit is part of an ongoing college party tour hosted by Greek Fest.Â
The line at Turf wrapped around the corner of Route 1. Those in line spoke of the various cast member’s controversies. People passing by made comments about the length of the line, some unsure what could warrant such a crowd on a Wednesday night.Â
An attendee and UMD student, Melina Andrews, was asked why she thought Nic chose to come to UMD. “I know that his mom is from Baltimore, so I think that’s probably one of the reasons.”Â
Fans dispersed once they got inside, attempting to get the best spot to snap a picture of Vansteenberghe. The staff at Turf was rather busy as they urged the crowd to clear a path for Vansteenberghe once he made his grand entrance.Â
Another attendee and UMD student, Allison Artemenko was asked why she attended the event. “It just gave me something to be excited about.”Â
Andrews also replied, “We don’t have many experiences like that very often here, so I just thought it would be cool to see somebody that I’ve been watching on TV over the summer.”Â
The doors for the event opened at 8 p.m. Some attendees bought tickets for regular admission, while others chose the meet and greet tickets to have the chance to speak to Vansteenberghe and take a photo. Anticipation grew until 10 p.m. when he reemerged and walked right to the DJ stand to entertain his fans. People throughout the crowd were overjoyed. Later on, Vansteenberghe even brought out Olandria Carthen, his current girlfriend, as well as a fan favorite of the show!
“I was not expecting that to be honest, because I assumed if Olandria came out, they would have marketed that to make more money,” Artemenko said. Â
On the other hand, Andrews said she “wasn’t that surprised, because I heard rumors that she was coming.”Â
Nic and Olandria were very engaging with their fans.Â
“I just thought it was really cool because me and my friends were really close to the front and they kept coming up to the front and talking to everybody,” Andrews said. She also mentioned that after the event she decided to watch Love Island Games.“I was like, I gotta keep it on theme.”
On Sept. 25, Austin Shepard, another Love Island USA cast member, made an appearance at another bar in College Park.Â
“They know that all the college girls are obsessed with them,” Artemenko said.
Two reality TV stars have visited College Park in the span of a single week. This has added to the excitement of the College Park nightlife and attracted new people in the process. Who’s to say which star guest will make an appearance next!