Snow is forecast on the UA Mall tonight, according to the University Activities Board.

Food, fun, arcade games, poker – it sounds like Wilbur’s Underground, but it’s really Winterfest ’06, and it’s all free, including the snow, an event official said.

Multiple snow machines will accompany the arcade games from the Student Union Memorial Center’s first floor after they are moved up to the Mall as part of the University Activities Board event tonight, said Chrissy Lieberman, program director of campus activities for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership and a UAB adviser.

Among many freebies are food, hot beverages in an outdoor café, a poker tournament and live entertainment, she said.

Melissa Genczo, special events chair for the University Activities Board, said there will also be comedy troupes, a jumping castle and a DJ from a local radio station.

TJ Willis, senior coordinator of campus activities for CSIL, said Common Grounds, which runs coffee carts around campus, will be handling the free hot beverages, which includes coffee.

The poker tournament will offer prizes, he said.

The arcade games include “”Dance Dance Revolution,”” “”In the Groove,”” “”Madden Football,”” boxing, “”The Fast and the Furious,”” “”Tekken 5,”” darts and ping pong.

The games will all be in free-play mode, Lieberman said.

There will also be an opportunity for anyone to get up with a microphone and sing or do comedy routines, Lieberman added.

“”Open mic has a lot of potential to be many things,”” she said.

Willis said a lot of people do slam poetry.

While the event is free, the coordinators want to track how many people attend by giving out wristbands, he said.

The wristband is obtained by filling out a brief survey, which is free, he said.

When attendees fill out the survey, they are rewarded with an entry into a prize drawing, Willis said.

The event is the final project by the event planning and leadership class, educational leadership 281, he said.

Lieberman added that although all of the executive board members of the UAB are required to take the course, it is open to everyone.

It’s all about the process of event planning, she said, including grant writing.

“”The students may see (success in the class) as how many people come,”” said Lieberman, who teaches the course with another instructor. “”For us, it’s about the process and how they do.””

Festivities start at 8 tonight on the Mall and last until midnight.