The Hunger Games in Gibson Square

Appearing: Sunday, July 17, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Burlington & Madison

Are you a fan of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games? In the future country Panem, teens from the “districts” are chosen for the Hunger Games. Before the Games, the teens go to the Capitol and participate in training. After training, they go into the arena, fight to the death.

Join other fans on Sunday for a Quarter Quell Competition during the Iowa City Book Festival. Author Cara Lockwood will serve as the Head Gamemaster for the competition. "Tributes" will work through a series of training center stations before the competition begins. Up to 8 tributes may work at any one station at a time. After 10 minutes, tributes will rotate to the next station.

• Camouflage cookie decorating with Cookies By Design

• Local plant and animal identification with Taproot Nature Experience.

• Bean bag toss game with UI Rec Services

• First Aid training with Johnson Co. Ambulance

• Bird calls with UI Museum of Natural History and the Iowa City Birding Club

• Weaving with Iowa City Weavers Guild

Following the Training Center preparation, the Quarter Quell competition will begin.

Round 1

The first round will be Tracker Jacker tag. Each participant will get a number of tracker jacker stickers. The goal is to place stickers on your opponent while avoided stickers being placed on you. Tributes are not allowed to remove stickers from themselves. This round will last 10 minutes and time remaining will be announced by the Head Gamemaster. When time is called, tributes will return to the stage area and find a partner. Then tributes will count tracker jacker stickers on their opponent. The tributes with the most stickers will "die" from the stings and be eliminated from the competition. Half of the tributes will be eliminated in this round. Gamemasters will be circulating during the competition to ensure fairness.

Round 2

The second round will be a water balloon fight. The water balloons will be placed in a "cornucopia" in the center of the arena. The remaining tributes will be spaced evenly around the center. This round will last 10 minutes and time remaining will be announced by the Head Gamemaster. When time is called, tributes will return to the stage area for inspection. The tributes who are the wettest will "die" and be eliminated from the competition. Only 8 tributes will proceed to the final round.

Round 3

The final round will decide the overall winner of the Quarter Quell. Tributes will draw numbers to be seeded in a single-elimination one-on-one combat tournament using inflatable boxing gloves. The pair of tributes will step into the arena (space marked in the grass) and try to knock the opponent out of the arena or to the ground in a 2-minute round. In the case of a tie, the tribute landing the most punches to the body (below shoulders and above waist) will move up in the tournament until only one tribute remains.

Rules

To be eligible to participate in this program, you must be between 10-18 years of age and submit a permission slip signed by a parent.

You must be respectful to other tributes, trainers, gamemasters and volunteers.

Any inappropriate behavior is grounds for immediate disqualifications and ejection from the game. This is at the sole discretion of the Gamemaster.