More than 10,000 Cambridge students will be marking the start of the new academic year by visiting Kelsey Kerridge Sports Hall today and tomorrow for the annual Societies' Fair.

A total of 302 University societies will be manning stalls in the hall, aiming to sign up new members and publicise their activities. With another 50 to 60 stalls for charities, volunteer groups and local businesses, it is the largest single event in the University's annual calendar.

In addition to well-known mainstream societies, such as the Amateur Dramatic Club, Cambridge Footlights, the Music Society (CUMS) and the Association Football Club, groups to watch out for this year include the Pastafarian Sparrowists, who claim to worship flying spaghetti and pirates, the Pembroke College Winnie The Pooh Society and the Sheila and Her Dog Society.

The event is organised each year by Cambridge University Students' Union as part of the Freshers Week programme of events to help those new to the University to meet others and settle in to Cambridge life.

“There is nowhere else in Cambridge where such large numbers of students can gather together,” explains CUSU Services Officer Adam Colligan. “The Societies' Fair acts as a way of welcoming Freshers to the university and getting them involved and interacting with fellow students. There are so many activities that it is a madhouse on the day, but great fun too.”

Cambridge University Radio, which like several societies is for both University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University students, will have a stall at the event and will broadcast live on both days on 1350am.

Cambridge University Students' Union is the federal union that supports and represents all the College Unions in Cambridge, and their students.

With 18,000 students from 31 colleges both undergraduate and postgraduate CUSU is the voice of Cambridge students both nationwide and to the University.

CUSU exists to advance the quality of education and social welfare of its members, both collectively and individually, by providing them with representation, services, support, and by campaigning on their behalf.

The Societies' Fair is open today between 2pm and 7pm, with an hour between 1 and 2pm exclusively for students with disabilities and student parents, and on Wednesday between 10am and 4pm.

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