By Odeya Pinkus
CENTRAL VALLEY — Fans began arriving at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets as early as 7:30 Tuesday morning .
They were not there to shop.
They were there to get a glimpse of pop stars Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato. The duo stopped by the shopping center as a part of their three-month nationwide “Future Now” tour.
The event was emceed by radio station K104.7, which entertained the crowd with music and free giveaways as the fans waited for the stars to arrive.
Fun in the sun
“It was really fun,” said Christina Kubicsko of Yorktown Heights. “I really liked how they had all the music playing, we were just jamming out for a few hours.”And while people were waiting for the stars to arrive, the sun was in full view, with more than one person needing medical attention.
Throughout the heat and the waiting, some attendees were disappointed and had hoped for more out of the afternoon.
“I’m kind of upset because I’ve been waiting here since 10 in the morning and I thought they were going to put on a little bit of a show,” said Sydni Kawash of Highland Mills. “All that happened was three questions and they took an extra hour to get here.”
Jonas and Lovato were expected to arrive at 1 p.m. They arrived at 2 p.m.
And stayed six minutes.
The arrival of Jonas and Lovato did bring shrieks from the crowd.
Singer Jonas first saw success as a part of his former band, The Jonas Brothers, but has now released multiple albums as a part of his solo career. Lovato is an actress and singer who has starred on the Disney Channel. She has released five albums since 2008, and has recently released a new single “Body Say” on July 1.
Perhaps the only thing more exciting than the actual arrival of the stars was the much-awaited prize of the day.
Meet and greet
Those who were in the crowd were told to text a number in order to enter to win either meet and greet passes and two concert passes, or a $500 gift card.For one of the lucky winners, the day’s events were, as she put it, “insane.”
“It hasn’t actually sunk in yet that that actually happened to me, but it was amazing,” said Kathleen Murray of Highland Mills, who won two free tickets to that night’s show in Newark, New Jersey, as well as the opportunity to meet the stars.
During the appearance, Jonas and Lovato answered questions submitted by the audience, and Jonas gave a shout out to someone who held a sign saying it was their birthday.
“It’s also my mom’s birthday today, too,” said Jonas.
Fans expressed that it was cool to see their favorite stars in person.
“It was awesome, it was really nice,” said Carly Lebda of Central Valley, whose friend won the contest. “Besides the fact that it was a thousand degrees out I think it was good. We were all so close up and stuff so that was good.”