Apr. 28—BLUEFIELD, Va. — Cool temperatures didn't stop Bluefield University students from getting wet and muddy Thursday as the annual Mud Pig Day gave them a chance to blow off some steam.

The field outside the university's distinctive Dome Gymnasium became the setting for bounce houses, a muddy pit, a hillside slide and a big buffet featuring a whole roasted pig as Mud Pig Day got underway Thursday morning. Members of the Bluefield, Va. Fire Department came out and provided the hoses and water needed to create a soapy slide for the celebrating students.

Senior student Caleb Word was already wet and muddy from one trip down the hill and he was getting ready for another. A mix of water and dishwashing soap made the slide suitably slippery.

"When you go down this, you lather up with dish soap," Word said. "You take a running start and you go at least 20 mph as you go head first going down the hill. And the best part is when you get to the bottom and you keep going about 20 feet."

It was Word's last Mud Pig Day. New student Tristen Gillenwater was among friends getting ready for their first run down the slide.

"Yea, but I'm going down," she said. "I'm definitely going down. I'll probably go down more times. This is my first Mud Pig Day."

Gillenwater was soon playing in the mud pit with her friends. She contributed to the 2023 Mud Pig Day by winning a T-shirt design contest. Two pigs at her Boone County,W.Va. home, Ellie Mae and Jackson, were the logo's models.

Soaking wet and covered with a mix of mud and grass clippings, Isaiah Rife, student government association president, hiked back to the mud hole he dubbed a "mud hole hot tub."

"I think it's pretty cool," he said.

Mud Pig Day marks the end of the semester at Bluefield University, Rife said. Classes and final exams are over, so it's time for the students to go outside and relax.

"They get to let out the stress they've had all year and have some fun," he added.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com