Wonder why a 6-foot, bright blue B and G sculpture has been plopped in front of McFarlin Auditorium? All you have to do is step between the letters, forming the final letter, I, with your body, and look down to find your answers.
The letters are a part of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau new campaign, titled “Big Things Happen Here.”
“With $15 billion spent in new developments in the last two years, we want locals to rediscover Dallas,” the bureau’s vice president communications, Priscilla Hagstrom, said. “We want to educate locals, visitors, and students about what Dallas has to offer now.”
Junior Sherry Zhang first saw the letters at the Dallas BIG Celebration outside the American Airlines for the campaign’s kickoff event on March 27.
“With so many big events going on this month in Dallas, I figured SMU would be very involved with the city’s ‘Big Things Happen Here’ campaign because the university is such a vital part of the community,” Zhang said. “At SMU, there has always been a solid, powerful network of people who have the potential to do great things. Being a part of the Dallas campaign is only fitting. “
Dallasites can enter into the bureau’s social media contest by taking a photo between the two letters and then sharing the photo on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ or Pinterest, using the hashtag #DallasBIG.
The contest, running until April 26, will host drawings April 3, 10, 17 and 24 and winners will be announced each Monday on the bureau’s Facebook page.
Winners could receive behind-the-scenes meeting with the Dallas Mavericks, a race track driving experience at Texas Motor Speedway or $500 in NorthPark Gold, among other prizes.
“They are large prizes that money can’t buy,” Hagstrom said.
With B and G letters located over 20 locations around Dallas, SMU students have plenty of opportunities to enter themselves into the contest. Letters are located at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Dallas Zoo, Bishop Arts District and Victory Park.
Some locations offer additional special deals if shown your B and G picture. Show your B&G photo at Hoffbrau Steaks at West End for a free appetizer or dessert the purchase of entrée. The Omni Hotel is also offering a Sunday night stay for $99 if you show them your picture.
A map of the BIG display locations, prize packages and complete contest rules can be found at VisitDallas.com/BIG.