On Tuesday, March 11 in the 1C Rotunda, students were welcomed with games, crafts, and comfort food at Winterfest, hosted by the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

A new addition that you could hop aboard during Winterfest was a train that was driven around campus, allowing students quick transportation to the event, or to give students looking for a cruise through campus an opportunity to take in the scenery. Being that the event was pushed to March from its usual date in February, the CAB figured that adding another element that hasn’t been done before to coincide with the warmer weather in March would be a great new addition.

“Usually, we do Winterfest in February but due to some unfortunate events like the weather and other things that are out of our control, we had to do it in March,” said CAB Chairperson Tyrese Williams. “That’s where the outside train idea came from, we wanted to bring another factor into the event that we haven’t tried before because of how nice the weather is right now.”

Williams also spoke about some of the main attractions at Winterfest and the national and regional conference he attended, held by the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) that allowed the campus to bring some fun opportunities to the event. The conference showcases many of the activities in which students participated in 1C, and CAB made these decisions at the conference in Philadelphia this semester to bring the best activities presented to them by NACA to Winterfest.

These activities included colorful airbrushing designs on hats, punching machines, an air hockey table, and a giant snow globe, as well as other activities. Students were not only surrounded by games and activities, comfort food, snacks, and coffee were provided as well.

The wait to get to the front of these lines was lengthy, which necessitated navigating through the events in the Rotunda, with groups of students surrounding some of the biggest attractions like the punching machine and the airbrush artists. The relatively quick punching machine had students alternating with each other trying to test their strength by punching an overhead bag for a number score with a max score of 999.

The line for the airbrushing designs was a much slower-paced experience due to the time it takes to perfect the bright and creative designs being requested. Most students got their name printed in script across the front or back of their hat with bright colors that can cap off an outfit or be a nice gift for a friend or family member. One student said his airbrushed hat is a gift for his sister.

“It’s my little sister’s birthday coming up and we have an inside joke about these airbrushed hats so I thought it would be funny,” said CSI student Lorik Fazliu. “I did just do well on my physics exam so I wanted to treat myself but I didn’t even expect to come here, especially having this Winterfest in March, but I like it. I think the weather is drawing a lot of people out as well.”

CAB provided students with an experience at Winterfest to remember with fun activities and the chance to make new connections with fellow students. Although the event was delayed from its traditional date and time, students and participants could appreciate the spring-like weather. Students were able to take a small hiatus before returning to their classes, especially those preparing for a busy second half of the semester or looking to rebound from midterms.

By Kyle Cicero