Though the premise of Bullstock is a daylong festival of music, each year the festival changes to fit students’ needs. What began with petting zoos and local bands now features a former world record-breaking rapper and nationally known bands.

Organized by the Campus Activities Board (CAB), Bullstock IV features four performances by recording artists Twista, Authority Zero, Mr. Majestic and Story of the Year. Speaking 598 syllables in a single minute, Twista was listed in the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s fastest rapper.

While flyers initially announced that local and regional bands would also be involved, the length of the program and the Miles for Moffitt benefit race being held the morning of Bullstock caused CAB to stick with its four nationally acknowledged acts.

“Because of the Moffitt race from 7 (a.m.) to 1 (p.m.) we could only get security for this event from 2 (p.m.) to 9 (p.m.),” said Nick Rau, graduate adviser for the Office of Student Affairs.

With each Bullstock comes a slight change in the program, as CAB tries to determine its most successful format.

“Bullstock started out four years ago as more of a festival on Crescent Hill with a petting zoo and local bands,” CAB Promotions Director Connie Ramos said.

Last year, CAB worked with the Basement Band Series, allowing the winner of the series’ Battle of the Bands to perform at Bullstock. The event also featured popular regional bands such as Eden’s Row.

This year however, the presence of nationally recognized bands increases Bullstock’s expected attendance from 500 last year to 4,000 students, though the average expectancy at any given time is about 1,500.

“The people that are going to see Story of the Year may not be the people that see Twista,” Rau said. “It’s different genres.”

Authority Zero will kick off the event at 2 p.m., with Mr. Majestic at 3:30, followed by Story of the Year at 5 and Twista taking the stage at 6:30.

CAB selects acts for Bullstock based on student interests as a whole – members talk to students, friends and people around the office to gain insight as to what’s popular on campus. CAB chose a varied selection of tastes – rock, rap and reggae – to appeal to a larger section of the student body.

“We held a committee meeting where we voted on what kind of music we wanted to hear, and then we determined which artists were popular with students that we could afford to invite,” said Ramos.

Though admission to Bullstock is free to USF students, in a sense they’ve already paid for for it since the event is funded through Activity and Service fees. According to Rau, paying the four musical acts alone costs CAB $60,000, which accounts for roughly one-sixth of CAB’s yearly budget.

“We’re still trying to figure out what students want Bullstock to be,” said Rau. “Next year we’re hoping to involve more student organizations.”

Formed as a merger of the conflicting University Center Programming Board and Student Government Board in 1991, CAB plans a variety of entertainment events on campus in addition to Bullstock. These range from Bulls Nite Out to Movies on the Lawn, from concerts to comedy nights.

Bullstock IV takes place Saturday at 2 p.m. on Fowler Field and is open to everyone. Free soda and pizza will be provided courtesy of CAB.