Free Concerts + Family Activities at Minerpalooza

The UTEP campus is going to get turnt up this Friday night. Minerpalooza, the university's biggest party of the year, is back!

For the uninitiated, Minerpalooza is the university’s annual beginning of the school year celebration. The part pep rally-part festival includes live music, carnival activities, and appearances by Paydirt Pete, the UTEP football team, cheer squads, and the UTEP band.

This year, former Nickelodeon heartthrob Drake Bell, DJ Pauly D of "Jersey Shore" fame, and El Paso’s Volta will be providing the musical entertainment.

Adding to the party-like atmosphere will be a beer and wine garden, as well as food trucks and food booths. Activities for the kids, such as games, inflatable’s and face-painting inside Pete’s Playground will be part of the mix too.

The festival, which takes place in the parking lot of the Larry K. Durham Center at the corner of Glory Road and Sun Bowl Drive, gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday, August 31.

Admission is free, but food, drinks and kid’s activities will cost you a few bucks. Visit the Minerpalooza website for details and updates.