OUAB to kick off Homecoming Week with first-ever Fall Fest

Audrey Kunce
Fri, 29 Sep 2023 01:45:44 +0000
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Students can unwind before midterms by attending OUAB’s Fall Fest, a “block party brought to campus.” Courtesy of Brian Finley | OUAB

In college, Homecoming Week can feel a bit different from what students were accustomed to in high school. But that doesn’t make it any less jam-packed with activities and events to provide students with a much-needed, mid-semester breather.

The Ohio Union Activities Board will host its first-ever Fall Fest from noon to 5 p.m., Sunday on Siebert Lawn. The festival — open to all Ohio State students — is OUAB’s riff on a block party, Brian Finley, the board’s director of special events, said.

“Fall Fest is essentially OUAB bringing a festival to students,” Finley said. “There will be a mechanical bull, a rock wall, super-slide inflatables, airbrush and glitter tattoos, caricature art and letter-brush art on shirts.”

Fall Fest is also fit for food lovers, Finley said.

“We will have carnivalesque foods like pretzels, cotton candy and funnel cake,” Finley said.

Finley said Fall Fest provides students with an accessible, fun way to celebrate the beginning of Homecoming Week.

“Normally, we have a big event centered around Homecoming Week,” Finley said. “Fall Fest, in particular, was originally supposed to happen last spring. However, we postponed the event due to weather and it only made sense for it to happen around this time in order to kick off Homecoming.”

Olivia Beckett, OUAB’s Fall Fest project lead, said Fall Fest is scheduled for the Sunday before Homecoming Week so other clubs have a chance to host events after Friday’s parade.

For students on the fence about attending, Finley said Fall Fest is a perfect opportunity to simply enjoy being an Ohio State student.

“Students should come to Fall Fest because it helps build that sense of community,” Finley said. “We are heading in the direction of midterms, and this is a way for students to have a fun, free event that will relieve stress and take a load off and prepare for homecoming.”

Krystal Vielman, OUAB’s assistant director, said Fall Fest is an ideal way for students to disconnect from their heavy courseload while spending time with their friends or even people they’ve never met before.

“I think the important part of this event, and why our students are so excited to plan it, is because it is a super fun and interactive day,” Vielman said. “It is essentially a day of play for adults on campus, and it is a good breather, especially because people are in the midst of midterms, or they have midterms coming up in the next couple of weeks.”

Attending students will be asked to scan their BuckID upon arrival, which will grant them entry to the festival. The event is free and there is no registration required.

More information about Fall Fest can be found on OUAB’s website.