Campus Activities Board (CAB) is starting off the school year with numerous events during the first week to get students involved and excited for the 2016-17 school year.

“We do kind of like to start off with a bang,” said senior organizational leadership major and CAB vice president of programming, Nina Belcastro. “You know, hopefully [students] understand that it is this awesome throughout the year.”

Sept. 2 from 7-10 p.m., CAB will kick off with a Coffeehouse event in the Point Cafe. Belcastro said this event is based off the Coffee with CAB series, which was held regularly last year and incorporated various activities to get people moving while enjoying coffee.

“This year, we changed it up a little bit to give it more of a coffee feel because with Coffee with CAB, it didn’t really make sense doing the activities and having coffee,” Belcastro said. “But we really liked the coffee idea, so we wanted to do kind of a relaxed, kind of chilled vibe, where kids could come in and enjoy some coffee, some live music, poetry.”

Sophomore sports, arts and entertainment management major and CAB pioneer series coordinator Leah Sero said another aspect of the event that differs from last year is that CAB plans to bring in performers from on and off campus.

The first hour of the event is a performance by local Pittsburgh musicians Harrison Wayne and Mitchell McDermott.

“They’re kind of mellow artists. They’re not anything too much,” Sero said in a phone interview. “But that’s like our new vibe.”

After Wayne and McDermott finish their performance, Belcastro said the rest of the evening is designated as an open mic for students.

“If anybody has a talent that they want to share, they are more than welcome to do that during coffeehouse now too,” Belcastro said. “So we’re really excited about this year.”

The open-mic idea was inspired by last year’s Coffee with CAB songwriting event, according to Sero.

“We had a girl who really didn’t want to share her songs with us, but she was encouraged by the group,” Sero said. “So we’re hoping to get the same reaction.”

Sero hopes this will give students an opportunity to “branch out” and showcase their talents.

“We’re a really dance-oriented, talented school,” Sero said. “So to get more of like the poet, the singers to kind of come out and show us they have great talents as well.”

CAB Coffeehouse will take place on the first Friday of each month. Sero said CAB will continue to modify the series for students as the semester moves along.

After Friday’s entertainment, the organization is hosting the Pioneer Picnic for Labor Day festivities on Sept. 5 from 5-7 p.m. in Village Park.

Sophomore business management major and CAB special events coordinator Kaitlyn Smith said after the success of last year’s event, she thought it would be a great idea to start the year off strong again with the picnic.

“It’s a way for students to meet new people, enjoy the scenery of our urban campus in Village Park, to enjoy the nice weather and just take a little break from classes, because the first week is a bit stressful,” Smith said in a phone interview.

With a DJ and picnic food present, Belcastro described the evening as an “urban picnic.”

“It’s really going to be an urban kind-of feel, like an urban picnic. So think like string lights and high-top tables,” Belcastro said.

Smith said there will be some traditional style picnic food available, such hot dogs and hamburgers provided by the school’s new food service provider, CulinArt. Smith has also arranged for other food options to take the event up a level.

“But I’m also stepping it up a notch with some really good grilled food, which I’m going to leave a little bit of a surprise for all the students,” Smith said.

While creating an opportunity for all students to gather and make new friends, Smith said she hopes everyone will be able to relax as well.

“[Students] should expect a laid-back atmosphere,” Smith said. “There will be some great music going and some great food.”

For more information on the organization and upcoming events, students can follow CAB’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.