Friends with globs of paint in hand menacingly chased each other around the Parade Ground on Tuesday evening, while red, orange and blue paint flew into the air and landed messily on people.Nearly 800 students made music and art when Splatterbeat, sponsored by the Residential Hall Association, kicked off LSU’s Homecoming as part of a series of events this week.More than 25 trash cans filled with a total of $600 of diluted paint were placed on tarps in a small corner of the Parade Ground for students to bang on, said Claire Biggs, mass communication sophomore and Splatterbeat co-chair.The trash cans, when hit, splatter paint onto the person drumming the trash can. Many students sent paint flying while banging the trash cans to a melody or aiming the splashes at peers. “Think ‘Miss Congeniality’ or the Blue Man Group,” Biggs said. “[People have told me], ‘I’ve gone to homecoming all five years I’ve been here, and this is the best homecoming event,'” Biggs said. “I definitely think [Splatterbeat] will happen again.” Kimberly Evans, business junior, said she was surprised by how much fun she had at Splatterbeat. “I haven’t really been to a lot of RHA events,” Evans said. “I saw photos on the Facebook event, and it looked like a lot of fun, so I came.” Jordan Nickens, mechanical engineering freshman, said Splatterbeat was a “great idea.” “It’s a hell of a lot of fun,” Nickens said. “I’m covered in paint.” The first 500 students at the event with their Tiger Cards received a free white shirt with the Splatterbeat logo, and all students could enjoy both free food and music at the event, Biggs said.   Rebecca Morales, RHA vice president, said the event went better than expected. “Everyone really likes it,” Morales said. “This was the first time we held it, and it’s been one of the more successful programs.” Supplies were a small concern, however, Biggs said. “We went through paint faster than we thought we would, and we had less tarps than we needed because we had to cover the stage,” Biggs said. Biggs said RHA officials found the idea of starting Splatterbeat when the University of Texas at Dallas presented the event at a South West Affiliate of College and University Residential Halls conference this past summer.”I was just super excited to hear about the idea and immediately knew it was something that could be taken to a much larger scale at LSU and become something on the same level as Snowing in the South,” Biggs said. “I never imagined it would be the kick-off event for LSU’s 100 Years of Homecoming though.” Biggs said Splatterbeat is a result of six months of work. A run-through of the event happened three weeks ago, and students have promoted the event since then with t-shirts and banners made from the run-through. “How often do you get to play like this?” said Valerie Wade, mass communication freshman. “If homecoming is like this the rest of the week, it’s going to be the best week ever.” Other events planned for Homecoming week include a concert by Streamline tonight at the Parade Ground, a pep rally Thursday evening at the Parade Ground and the men’s basketball home opener Friday evening. Homecoming week will conclude with a parade Saturday afternoon and the LSU-Louisiana Tech football game at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.- – – -Contact Brianna Paciorka at [email protected]