Students competed in spooky and zany costume contests at the annual Halloween Harvest Festival on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The event, hosted by the Center for Student Involvement (CSI), was highlighted by live music, fun activities, and vendors like Wetzel’s Pretzels and Happy Ice. Alongside a Halloween-themed photo booth, and a temporary tattoo station, this year featured a zombie bear building station and pumpkin painting. There were four different categories for the costume contest: scariest, funniest/punniest, crowd favorite, and best duo or group costume.
Andrea Dominguez, the student engagement coordinator for CSI, said this was her first year organizing events for the center. The zombie bear building station Building the zombie bear was one of her ideas, and she plans to incorporate more animal stuffing into future events.
“We did have a lot of people this year that exceeded what I thought was gonna happen,” said Dominguez. “So really, expect a bigger crowd next time.”
CSI director Fabiola Avina said that despite challenges, talked about what were some of the challenges involved in organizing the event.
“The biggest hurdle was just getting the paperwork signed through the university”, said Avina.
Along with the challenges, she also noted the there was more students in bigger attendance this year, and what is the most fulfilling aspect about organizing events such as this.
“Seeing people just get excited about the different activities. “People were here early to check in,” said Avina. “And they were excited to check in exactly at 4four p.m.”
Students responded incredibly well to the event. Attendees were still stayed in the area even after the event ended,had closed. They were still painting their pumpkins or taking their photos at the booth. Elder Lopez, a fourth-year student, joined the event when he noticed the attendees who were in costume. The costume that caught his eye was a Snoopy costume. His girlfriend inspired him to stay at the event and he was completely delighted by the festivities.
“It felt really nice to share this sort of occasion,” said Lopez. He thought the event evokedhad a “nice and cozy feeling” about it and it was different from the events he usually sees on campus.
The next event that CSI has planned is Moonlight Breakfast, which will be held on Dec. 3.
