The Office of Multicultural Affairs’ annual Backyard Bash will return for its third year at 5 p.m. Friday on Circle Drive east of the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building.

OMA interns have been planning the concert since January.

The concert will feature giveaways, contests, dance performances, face-painting and more.

Aliera Martin, junior advertising and public relations major from Fort Worth, is organizing the event, and this is her third year to participate.

“In January, we started looking for artists to headline, then we decided to make it an Abilene talent festival and keep it local,” Martin said.

At the beginning of March, OMA interns hosted auditions at Monk’s Coffee Shop and set a lineup and headliner by the end of the month.

Oyindamola Eniola, senior engineering major from Lagos, Nigeria, and chaplain of African Students’ Association, said he and his singing partner will cover three songs, Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Stay by Rihanna and Try Everything by Shakira.

“I’m really hoping the event does what music does for people,” Eniola said. “I hope the event is able to bring everyone together and we can participate together in harmony.”

The event showcases OMA’s goal of diversity and equality for all.

“As done in the past, we ask our social clubs to help and volunteer to bring together two of the largest student body groups on campus,” Martin said. “I think it’s a great tradition to keep up since a lot of our students are involved in them.”

Food tickets are $5 and are available for purchase until 8:15 p.m., which includes a barbecue plate, cooked by Nu Kappa Psi, and a snow cone from Cajun Cones.

Martin said her ideal outcome for Backyard Bash is for students, faculty and staff to step outside of their respective organizations and come together for something everyone loves –  music and fun.

“OMA is about investing in our communities diversity especially at ACU and helping others understand that, where it may be out of their realm,” Martin said.

The headliner for the concert, David Mirambi, declined to comment and April Napier, director of OMA, did not respond to requests for an interview.