How Foster MBAs Spend Their Weekend: Rocking Out Near the Columbia River

About the author: Jenny Nowierski (below) is a second-year MBA student at Foster. She interned at Microsoft as a business development analyst. Before coming to Foster, she worked for Target in Minneapolis.

Washington State has a great music scene.

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I went to the Sasquatch! Music Festival with a few classmates. Given that it combined two of the area’s best features – the outdoors and live music – I was confident that I would have a great time.

Our caravan of 8 cars made the two-and-a-half hour drive out to the Gorge Amphitheater. It’s an amazing looking venue that sits just near the Columbia River. The weather forecast called for 90-degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine.

Arriving mid-day on Friday, we spent the early afternoon setting up our campsite, cooking food, and enjoying a cold beer before the performances began.

From left to right: Kelsey Mitchell, Ari Varley, Jenny Nowierski

Around 3, we ventured toward the stage to check out the early bands and enjoy the breathtaking views.

Sasquatch had over 60 performers, including some of my favorites: The Shins, The Head and the Heart, MGMT, and Chance the Rapper.  We even had a surprise performance by Sir Mix A Lot. It was a nice throwback from a native Seattle artist.

At night, we watched the sunset over the gorge. We went from stage to stage exploring new music and enjoying some old favorites. All sorts of bands played, across a wide range of genres (indie, rock, EDM, and hip hop, among others).  There was even a stand-up comedian.

After 3 days at the festival, we headed back to Seattle early Monday morning. Although we had to spend some late nights catching up on school work when we got back, the great music and fun times with friends definitely made the trip worthwhile.

Seattle has an incredible music scene, and it’s always easy to find classmates at Foster who want to join you for a show.