Photo: Farah Bassyouni
Fall means many things to students. Usually, it’s a whirl of midterms, weather changes, cozy sweaters, pumpkins and more. On October 23, students got the chance to celebrate with fall activities and music by The Filharmonic at Campus Activity Board’s (CAB) annual fall fest.
Over the course of the two hour event, about 150 people gathered on the quad to participate in the fall fun.
CAB was able to transform the quad for the event. Tables of pumpkins of all sizes and a list of fall-themed food to choose from lined the grass. There was kettle corn, hot apple cider, candy apples, a s’mores roasting station, pumpkin donuts, and more. People gathered with friends on the grass to eat and paint their pumpkins. Of course, there were tables with paint and supplies, but getting paint everywhere in the grass after a messy attempt at making a scary ghost pumpkin seemed like the better option for most.
According to many attendees, one of the most entertaining parts of Fall Fest was the eating contest. People gathered to watch as volunteers fished for candy-corn in their pies with their mouths, and took pictures of their frosting-covered faces afterwards. The contestants, awarded with applause and cute fall-approved pictures, also won little cute CAB mugs with candies in them.
After an afternoon of being surrounded by friends and finishing off with painting pumpkins, the spectacle of the event seemed to be a capella group The Filharmonic. The Filharmonic are a Filipino-American a capella group that garnered fame through NBC’s “The Sing-Off” and their appearances on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.”
According to Bea Manlapaz, first-year, she first discovered the group in the 2017 film “Pitch Perfect” when the Filharmonics were featured singing a verse of the song “Any Way You Want It” in Filipino.
“My favorite parts about seeing them was feeling represented as a Filipino, watching them perform live, and meeting them,” Manlapaz said.
Manlapaz was able to speak with two of the members after the show and asked if they knew how to speak Tagalog, and even taught one of the members, VJ Rosales, some Filipino slang.
“Filipinos tend to be very proud of their identity, and most of us feel connected to each other despite not being related,” Manlapaz said.
Manlapaz said that representation for Asians and POC in the music industry makes her happy, and she hopes more of the same artistics “get even more acknowledgment, recognition, and support for their hard work.” She said that CAB’s idea to bring them was a great one.
“It’s satisfying to watch all your hard work come to life and have such a great turnout,”
Laina Chavarria said. Chavarria leads CAB’s public relations efforts on campus.
Attendees said that the fall fest brought a warm feel to the chilly quad on Saturday, and that the activities were just what they needed to get into the spirit of the season. It was the warm, entertaining and wholesome welcome into the fall season that IWU needed.