Honors fraternity and several Greek organizations sang and danced to support Newport’s Brighton Center at the third annual Greek Sing.

The honors fraternity Order of Omega and several Greek organizations from NKU organized the third annual Greek Sing musical ensemble April 9 in the MEP auditorium. All proceeds benefitted Newport, Ky.’s Brighton Center, a private nonprofit organization that helps the less fortunate in Northern Kentucky.

Two canned food items or $3 was all that was required of the over 400 students who attended the action-packed show which featured choreography and musical mash-ups of popular songs. Each group of performers was assigned a specific theme and chose songs accordingly. The groups practiced for several weeks prior to Greek Sing to perfect their performances.

Several songs the from the popular television show “Glee,” an a capella version of the NKU anthem and the Norse fight song started off the night. The next act to perform was the Delta Gamma sorority with their theme of “songs ruined by Glee,” which included choreographed renditions of several popular songs. Rihanna’s’ “Umbrella”, “You Can’t Touch This” by M.C. Hammer and “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice were just a few of the songs performed by the Gamma sisters.

Phi Sigma Sigma was next with their theme, “songs about sex.” Like the theme implies, most of the songs they performed were about love and sex. The crowd’s favorite was “Afternoon Delight” from the movie “Anchorman.” As with a majority of the performances, the music and the dance moves were a perfect match.

Theta Phi Alpha sorority, who took first place at this year’s Greek Sing, performed “songs from childhood.” The theme allowed the sisters to perform various songs from the “Now That’s What I Call Music” CD collection.

The sisters performed an elaborate stage show which included a life-size Barbie Doll box with a sister inside dressed as Barbie. Theta Phi sister Brenna Bartlett, a junior public administration major, said the Greek Sing event is her favorite event of the year and that she has been involved the last three years.

“Even if you get up there and you’re just a hot mess, it’s no big deal, it’s just crazy fun,” said Bartlett.

Second place winners Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity performed “songs from the ‘80s.” The brothers were well received by the crowd, becoming a favorite with energetic dance moves and catchy songs. Senior electronic media broadcasting major Ryan Hall loved performing with his brothers during Greek Sing.

“A lot of Greeks weren’t here tonight…I would love to see this become huge,” Hall said. “At other universities it’s one of the biggest things Greek Life does and it should be one of the biggest things our Greek Life does.”

Freshman Sigma brother Nathan Garbig, a public relations and EMB major, had a great time performing at Greek Sing. “It was just awesome, the whole Greek community coming together, and even though we were competing, it was still just awesome fun,” said Garbig.

The sisters of Kappa Delta took third place with their theme of “dysfunctional family songs.” Two of the crowd favorites were the band Queens’ “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” Less than cheerful songs and skilled choreography made this a memorable performance.

Talia Frye, Brighton Center’s family center director and a 2003 NKU graduate, commended NKU’s focus on philanthropy. Frye said she recently had a need for volunteers to help set up and then clean up an event to benefit the Brighton Center. Frye reached out to the NKU Office of Student Life for help and in a short amount of time received a group of volunteers excited to help make a difference in the community.

Frye also gives NKU credit for her ability to find a job in Northern Kentucky post-graduation. The friends and career connections she made while at NKU have remained close to her.

“I was a member of Theta Phi Alpha when I was at NKU and we did so much [philanthropically] when I was at NKU; that really kind of turned a page for me about what I wanted to do in my career,” said Frye.

This year’s Greek Sing was a definite hit with the crowd. Nikki Gamble, sophomore special education and English education major, said she enjoyed this year’s Greek Sing.

“I thought it was really great and the talent was amazing. It showed a lot of breadth in our Greek community and the community at large and I think it’s a great event that needs to continue,” she said.

Order of Omega President Ian Miller, a senior communication major, said crowd turnout was good for this year’s event. The Order of Omega is an honors fraternity on campus for men and women that promotes leadership qualities in its members.

“It was a great time tonight…we were really happy,” said Miller.

There are many ways students can become involved with The Brighton Center. The center helps individuals with basic needs like food, clothing, housing, childcare; as well as offers financial services and drug rehabilitation programs. The center operates 35 programs that serve all eight counties in Northern Kentucky. Most funds come from private donations and volunteers are always welcomed. You can find out more about the Brighton Center by going to www.brightoncenter.org.