The University Housing office, in collaboration with the A-State Multicultural Affairs Office and Volunteer A-State, will host the 16th annual Fall Festival, a community event meant to celebrate the new season.

The annual event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 this year from 12-3 p.m.. The festival, held in the field between the Pack Place and the Village student residencies, will feature a variety of activities designed to bring together the diverse housing bodies and build community among student residents.

For fifteen years, the Fall Festival has brought together housing residents for fun and games as the new autumn season arrives. Kelly Ponder, Residence Education Coordinator with University Housing, said the event has become an annual staple for residents.

“The Fall Festival is one of our signature events for University Housing,” Ponder said. “We want to bring people together, invite all those residents so they can meet each other and feel comfortable in their community, get to know their neighbors, and have a great day. And, food is always a good way to bring people together.”

This year, new collaborators will join in creating the Fall Festival. Both the Multicultural Affairs Office and Volunteer A-State have become new partners in the festival, supporting different areas of the event and providing student volunteers.

As a branch of the Multicultural Affairs Office, Non-Traditional Student Services aims to give non-traditional students at A-State opportunities to build community, learn about resources available on campus and in the greater community, and find a space to come together and build connections.

Latika Johnson, Director of Multicultural Affairs at A-State, said the Fall Festival was important for non-traditional students.

“Our nontraditional student services initiative is primarily for our nontraditional student population,” Johnson said. “These students are our primary audience for this event and we really wanted to provide space for this population to come together, have fun in a safe social environment to bring in the new season.”

Volunteer A-State has also partnered with University Housing to organize this year’s Fall Festival. As part of its larger initiative, Volunteer A-State will provide student volunteers for the event while also advocating for the resources the group offers.

Cali Davis, a junior biological sciences major from Tyronza, Arkansas, and director of community outreach for Volunteer A-State, said she hoped event attendees would learn about the value of the organization’s support services.

“A lot of families live in the Village, which makes our pantry a great resource for them to have that is completely free and we have more than just food,” Davis said. “We have things like hygiene products and clothes, and we also collaborate with the cafeteria to do food recovery– actual meals, so we just want people to know that this is here on their campus for them.”

Categories: News