Fall on campus would remain incomplete without some form of festivities, and the Entertainment Committee (EC) delivered just that with their Fall Fling event. The event aimed to combine the wonderful aesthetic and vibes of fall with a way for students to mingle and have fun. In addition to the seasonal focus, this year’s Fall Fling featured an exciting twist, as it was masquerade-themed. The Stute had the opportunity to speak with Sara Wolf, the Festivities Director of the EC, and she explained how the idea was to set this year’s event apart from last year’s more “barnyard/rustic” feel. She hopes that the tradition of picking a theme is continued by future Festivities Directors of the EC and that it continues to make the annually occurring event more unique and fun.
This year’s Fall Fling was held on October 25 on Schaefer Lawn. It was a homecoming-style event with the motive of being a way for students to destress from midterm season. The Fall Fling featured live music, food and a chance for students to win raffle prizes, along with much more. This event garnered an attendance of around 300 students, many of whom dressed up in their best autumnal formal attire and some even donning eye-catching masks. A precursor of the Fall Fling was the mask-making event held by EC on October 19, where students could design their own masks fitting the masquerade theme.
Carrying out such a large-scale event is no easy feat, and Wolf explains that the work for Fall Fling began as early as the first day of classes on September 1. Wolf, along with Chris Alessandri, EC’s Special Events Director, worked to bring in vendors for music, catering and activities. The rest of work was distributed among the remainder of the EC members, leading to the creation of five different subcommittees: logistics, activities/food/giveaways (AFG), marketing, decor, and music. The responsibilities of logistics included budgeting, working with vendors, creating a floor plan and ensuring the event ran smoothly with proper staff. AFG handled most of the overall brainstorming and truly brought the event together, according to Wolf. The marketing team created all the flyers, posters, social media posts, and signage. Decor focused on the essence of the event and bringing out the fall and masquerade themes. The music committee’s job was getting in touch with WCPR and ensuring that everything was good to go for the live band and the DJ. All five of these committees reported back to Wolf and Alessandri and together made sure that everything went smoothly.
To say that this year’s Fall Fling was a success would be an understatement. However, Wolf believes that there were some key ways the event could still be improved for future years. Just like how the theme was elevated from last year’s Fall Fling to this year’s, in regards to what can be done differently for next year, Wolf focuses on incorporating more live performances. She stated, “I hope to bring back more live music! For dance events like Fall Fling and Founder’s Day Ball we typically use a DJ, but I truly do not think there is anything more special than live performances, so I really hope to incorporate that into more on-campus events!” Continuing with the focus on live music, Wolf also shares how the EC’s overall favorite part was The Villagers Brass Band who performed covers of popular songs with only brass instruments, such as the trombone, sousaphone, trumpet, and a small drum set. She hopes that this was something appreciated by all who attended this year’s Fall Fling.
Whether you had a chance to attend Fall Fling or not, there are still a number of diverse EC events left in the semester to consider. Highlights include trips to see the new Some Like It Hot musical on Broadway, Doja Cat on her Scarlet Tour, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. See the full list of upcoming events on EC’s DuckLink events page.
