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When the middle of the semester arrives, students are beginning to have feelings of disinterest and nostalgia. The Fall Family Festival was the perfect occasion to lift student’s spirits for the remaining half of the term. On Oct. 14, the Fair occurred from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the SCC Bowl. This year the theme was that of a traditional northeastern fall.
Organized and executed by Campus Activities Board and Student Affairs, the Fall Family Festival is an annual event here at Saint Leo University when families can visit and participate in a wide variety of fun activities over a three-day weekend. This year, the festivities began on Oct. 13t with Campus Family Feud, and ended on Oct. 15 with a Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride.
Jess Weaver is the Campus Activities Board (CAB) Assistant for Traditional Programming here at Saint Leo University. She explained that her job entails taking Saint Leo’s annual events and creating a unique theme of her choosing for each special occasion.
“I wanted the event to be family friendly; I made sure there was something for every member of the family to do,” stated Weaver.
Weaver is originally from New York. For Fall Family Festival, her vision was to bring a “northeastern fall” to Florida.
“I miss home so much,” exclaimed Weaver. She desired to incorporate the beautiful colors of fall from a wide spectrum of red and orange, pumpkins and the deciduous trees of northeastern America.
There were numerous entertaining activities to engage in at the affair. A beautiful area comprised of haystacks, pumpkins, and big bold letters that spelt out ‘Family’ invited families to engage in pumpkin picking. After, they had the option to paint what they picked under a tent that was right next to the mini field of pumpkins.
A photography business was also present at the event. The workers took photos of guests against a backdrop of the previously mentioned deciduous trees. They also printed and laminated the photos for you to cherish as a memory.
There were a number of volunteers working at the event including an entire section of organizations that were fund-raising. Some organizations included Kappa Sigma, Lambda Phi Chi, Psi Chi, Alpha Psi Omega and the Caribbean Student Association, just to name a few. Some activities to take part in included rock painting, a water balloon station, and a sand art bottle station.
Not to mention, there was a balloon animals and face painting station, a zero gravity ride, an inflatable corn maze, and a super fun slide.
One organization, hired by CAB, named “Mountain Kettle Corn and Catering” was also in the section of organizations. This catering company had hands on food novelties such as a do-it-yourself candied apple station and assorted roasted nuts.
For Lunch, the University served Grilled Chicken Breast, BBQ Pulled Pork, Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Black Bean Burger, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Macaroni Salad, Cookies and Brownies, Fruit Punch, Water and Apple Cider.
For dessert, one station offered up apple cider flavored donuts with either a powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or glazed topping. Individuals had the option to take as many as they wanted and they could have even come back for more.
One of the individuals attending the event could even be heard cheerfully telling the volunteers under the tent that they “never knew a donut could make someone’s day right.”
Families had the option to sit in a reserved eating area to enjoy all of the delicious food or under the trees and enjoy the cool breeze on one of the sorority’s or fraternity’s decorative benches.
The Fall Family Festival allowed families to spend some quality time together. Many parents cheerfully claimed that they would return next year for the family occasion.
All in all, it was a successful event with a good turnout. The weather was nice and sunny and students enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with their families after these past stressful weeks following hurricane Irma.
