“I will alight there,” said the Sun God, pointing one
of its psychedelic wings toward the fledgling campus on the mesa.
Well, not quite, but French-born sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002)
did select the roosting spot for her 14-foot-high, fiberglass statue
while flying over UCSD in a helicopter. “I was scared to death,” she
admitted after the flight.
Constructed in France, the Sun God was shipped over to campus for
installation in 1983. And every year since, it has been the star
of its very own festival.
 Henry Chu, ’83, an Associated Students (AS) officer came up
with the idea for a big bash after visiting UCLA’s spring
festival. But that first effort was unseasonably washed out.
The sun did shine on the 1984 re-debut and the festival has since
become a UCSD tradition. According to Susan Lewis, ’85, the
1984 festival director, $9,000 was spent on 35 reusable booths, where
they sold food and offered 18 carnival games ranging from “Name
That Tune” to the AS Corruption Booth, with two council members
available to “accept bribes” for mock unethical activities.
The venue has moved a number of times, from the original Student
Center hump to the Sun God Lawn (before the Faculty Club was built)
to Mile High Field where RIMAC is now, to the Price Center plaza,
to Warren Mall. Now it spreads its wings from Sun God Lawn across
Library Walk, Price Center and RIMAC.
In 1985, an evening concert featuring Los Lobos was added, and
since then such artists as The Call, The Untouchables, No Doubt,
Social
Distortion, Blues Traveler, They Might Be Giants and Switchfoot
have played.
 Throughout the years, the Sun God
has tolerated a number of superficial costume malfunctions, as
generations of art department students
expressed their creativity with the addition of sunglasses, a cap
and gown,
an ID card and even a large working phallus.
This year’s 24th festival included game booths with sumo
wrestling, jousting and giant slides, plus performances throughout
the day by
a capella groups, juggling acts, martial arts teams and cheerleaders.
And the concert at RIMAC field featured My Chemical Romance, Cypress
Hill and Bedouin Soudclash among others.
As part of a new tradition, UCSD’s very own version of NASCAR
revved up for the third year.
The Triton Junkyard Derby is a three-day event based on the The
Learning Channel’s popular “Junkyard Wars.” For photos of
this year’s winners, losers, cruisers and crashers, go to:
http://alumni .ucsd.edu/derby.
Got a favorite Sun God memory? Contact us at alumni@ucsd.edu and share. 
|
