In celebration of the beginning of the season, Fall Fest, organized by Stevens’ Entertainment Committee (EC), took place on October 8 with free admission for all Stevens Undergraduate students. This is now the second time that Fall Fest has been hosted since the EC transitioned away from Fall Fling, their previous big fall event. Since last year, the event has grown with even more activities than before.
The Stute spoke with Gianmarco Costa, the EC’s Festivities Director, who commented on what went into planning for the event. “As director of the event I’ve been planning on and off since early July,” stated Costa. “The committee did some early brainstorming in terms of giveaways in late July however, a bulk of the finer details were planned over the course of three weeks within the EC’s general body meetings (GBMs), starting from the first week of classes.” During this time, plans were set and changes were made from last year’s Fall Fest, including not having event shirts in order to allow more budget for activities.
Plans were set early to foresee the possibility of last-minute changes that would need to be made, and one issue nearly impacted the Fall Fest. In the morning before the fest, a light rain came down for a few hours and became a slight concern for those who organized and were planning to attend it. However, skies later cleared, allowing the Fall Fest to go off without a hitch.
Even before 4 p.m., when the event was to start, a long line was already building up with students eager to get in. Each attendee was required to check in to receive an orange wristband, which would allow them to participate in the different activities and get in line for food. By the end of the first hour, several hundred students had already entered the fest. In total, 605 students attended, and a majority of attendees were first and second-year undergraduate students.
All around Schaefer Lawn, attendees could be found enjoying the several activities scattered throughout. Perfectly on theme, pumpkins could be seen everywhere, from the pumpkin toss to the mechanical rodeo pumpkin to the pumpkin patch where attendees could grade a pumpkin to paint. While the wind created some difficulty in keeping a few art supplies from blowing away, attendees happily painted their pumpkins to their liking, including adding faces, spooky creatures, or other various designs. Over 250 pumpkins were acquired for the fest, which is up from the 175 pumpkins for last year’s fest, and almost all were gone in the first hour. For the future, Costa remarks that the EC hopes to make some changes to allow for larger quantities of pumpkins to be obtained.
In addition to these activities, attendees could be found in line for macaroni and cheese, chicken strips, apple cider donuts, and other free food options during the event. Additionally, attendees had access to a photo booth, chess boards, and cornhole where they could continue to have fun with their friends all the while listening to music from DJ Sargun Cheema of Sigma Delta Tau.
Kieran Seidita, a second-year student at Stevens and an attendee at the fest, was asked about his favorite part. “I really enjoyed the mechanical pumpkins and all the food options we have. This Fall Fest is even more lively than last year’s.” Seidita added, “My friends also enjoyed the photo booth” and stated that “this is another great memory at Stevens.”
A special appearance was made by Stevens’ new service dog, Tillie, who was decked out in a stylish jean jacket. This marked Tillie’s first Fall Fest at Stevens. Additionally, a surprise appearance was made by Stevens’ mascot, Attila, who could be found attempting the mechanical rodeo pumpkin at one point during the event.
Fall Fest was a success in bringing together the Stevens community for a fun few hours to celebrate the start of fall and what comes with it. Costa notes, “I feel nothing but pride for the event, and am very proud of the EC team for helping to pull it off, as well as thankful for the support from the Office of Student Life (OSL) team, the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE), and catering teams.” Now mark your calendars for December 3 when the EC will be hosting its next fest, Winter Wonderland!
