Denaijah WhiteAround 150 people attended the first ever Fall Festival hosted by SGA on Saturday, October 21. The fall festival was a family friendly event that featured a variety of activities including inflatable slide, inflatable games, face painting, pumpkin painting, and trunk-or-treat.
“The idea came from me. I wanted to give back to the community,” Cameron Emery, N.C. Central University student body president. “We want to make sure to always do a lot of things on campus and make sure students are engaged.”
The festival held both inside and outside of the New Student Center. The weather was kind for the event. It was 67 degrees and sunny. The overall theme was to celebrate Halloween. Kids and adults were dressed up as characters. There was a lady bug , a little mermaid, a skeleton, a cowboy, and more.
The D.J played pop songs and line dances for the kids and adults to dance to. Complimentary food was there. Soup, sliders, and water. There was a funnel cake food truck, and SGA members handed out free tickets for the food truck.
Sierra Riley, SGA director of community outreach, organized the event for kids to celebrate Halloween in a safe space to get candy and have a great time.
“I want kids to be inspired to be on an HBCU campus,” said Emery, a political science senior.
A number campus organizations — including Dream Volleyball, S.A.A.M.E, Eagle Anime Fanclub, Active Minds, TRIO, Society of future health educators, Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, and the C.A Jones History club – all volunteered and gave out candy to children. They decorated their tables Halloween themed and there were goodies and flyers that gave information on their organization.
“Excited,” said John Stokes, an NCCU alumni, who attended with his kids said. “It’s rare to get opportunities like this to come out and celebrate. The Fall Festival is a great family fun event to celebrate and have some fun.”
According to Riley, the SGA plans to have a Fall Festival annually.
