Fall is finally here, Huskies! It is the season of football, pumpkin spice and all things cozy. This past weekend, Student Activities brought harvest time joy to the CLAS quad with Fall Fest, a two-night event where students participated in scarecrow contests, enjoyed snacks and attended outdoor movie screenings. If you were able to attend Fall Fest this year, I’m sure you had a great time; if not, here’s what you missed:
On both Friday and Saturday night, students enjoyed a yummy fall-inspired spread of pumpkin whoopie pies, cinnamon donut holes, popcorn and apple cider, all provided by University Catering. While snacks were served, attendees mingled, listened to music and participated in a scarecrow decorating contest for a $50 prize.
“This is my first in-person semester at UConn, but I know this is the first time we’ve done Fall Fest, “ Colleen Pokorney, a fifth-semester Student Activities member, said. “This has been a lot of fun and we’re all really excited to be back and doing activities on campus.”
Programs Coordinator Will Harmonay came up with the idea of a scarecrow contest in which participants decorated a stick and wire frame to make scarecrow-like figures. I wasn’t able to catch up with the winner, but from my observations, they had some tough competition.
Photos provide by author 
Two contenders for the scarecrow competition. All supplies were provided by Student Activities.
On both nights at 8:30 p.m., blankets were spread and people cozied up for the outdoor movie screening. On night one, viewers enjoyed the 2019 mystery “Knives Out.” The Jordan Peele blockbuster “Get Out” was screened on night two. Both choices perfectly fit the autumnal, spooky vibe of the event.
“We actually decided we were going to have the students vote on the movie,” Harmonay said. “We put out a social media post saying, ‘Hey, go check out our vote for a movie that we’ll be hosting during Fall Fest.’ It was a good way to garner some excitement for the event before it happened. ‘Knives Out’ was the top choice and ‘Get Out’ was the second choice.”
The picks proved to be favorable among the audience. Both nights on the quad were mild, with crisp fall air and clear skies. Students didn’t seem to mind laying on blankets while they watched the movie on the huge screen or simply gazed up at the stars.
With Fall Fest being such a success, it was interesting to learn what else Student Activities had planned for the rest of the semester.
“This next week and weekend, we have Family Weekend and Homecoming kicking off, which is an exciting opportunity to get some alumni and first-time families to come out,” said Harmonay. “We have some really cool events planned for them, like a food truck fest and a comedian coming on campus to perform.”
“Silicon Valley” star Jimmy O. Yang is the comedian visiting for Family Weekend. Seating in Jorgenson is limited and tickets are unfortunately sold out.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls in our office, we’re all really excited,” said Harmonay.
He shared other events to look out for, like a mega-weekend event on Halloween weekend at the Student Union Mall.
Fall Fest was an absolute blast and it was great seeing so many Huskies come out and ring in the new season! If you missed this one, be sure to follow Student Activities on their social media pages where they keep followers updated on all the fun happening on-campus.
