Fall Fest 2023 | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
On Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fall Fest 2023 kicked off with over 100 organizations, vendors and more taking part in the annual event.
Planning
As Fall Fest is one of the main events that the University Activities Board plans, the organization has been coordinating since May with invitations sent out to student organizations and potential vendors.
All of UAB plans this massive event. Still, UAB President Lexi Ricker also credits the radio station and Lisa Burke of the University Fiscal Services as a huge help this year.
As one of the most popular events of WSU’s academic year, Fall Fest means that the campus green sees many new faces.
“I think the main reason [for Fall Fest] is just letting everybody know what's available around campus and getting acquainted with new people,” Ricker said.
Event
Over 120 organizations and vendors dotted the Quad and university green space, including inflatables, local nonprofits, vendors, student clubs and organizations, food trucks and so much more; this is an increase from the approximately 100 organizations and vendors from last year.
Another difference from last year was the addition of Poster Invasion, a traveling vendor of posters, tapestries and postcards that has previously come to WSU’s campus to provide the perfect decorations for dorm room spaces.
Food trucks provided treats for the day, including iced coffee, macaroni and cheese, tacos and gourmet popsicles.
Most of the entities at Fall Fest were student organizations, especially the Greek Life that ramped up for recruitment taking place in early September.
“We’re trying to get Greek Life in general to grow. That’s the goal of all of the sororities tabling. We want people to go through recruitment to find their homes. It’s not about getting people to join our specific chapter,” Kappa Delta member Britin Frazey said.
Besides Greek Life, many student organizations focus on niche interests, such as the Astronomical Collaboration.
“We’re trying to connect with other students, other organizations, and just find ways our interests can overlap with astronomy and other organizations and let people know what we do,” Astronomical Collaboration President Brad Kerry said.
Facets of campus that are not student-run but are still integral to student success also take advantage of Fall Fest as a way for students to get to know about them.
“My personal favorite part of Fall Fest is talking to all the students and hearing the ones who are excited about the library and getting to share with people what the library can do to help them,” Leigh Duncan, Head of Library Technology Services, said.
For more information about any of the aforementioned organizations, visit Engage. For more information about the University Libraries, visit the University Libraries website here.
