On Friday, Sept. 11, the Campus Activities and Programs Core (CAP Core) hosted the annual Country Fair from 7-11 p.m. Events took place at Uptown, The Commons and the MakerSpace.

For the Country Fair,  the 7th Street Studio & MakerSpace hosted a pumpkin painting event, where students were able to take pumpkins and decorate them.

“All 250 pumpkins that were ordered for this event were painted and decorated by eager students,” Assistant Director of Campus Activities and Programs Sabrina Shankar said. “All students are required to hand sanitize, wear a mask and socially distance at all events to ensure COVID-19 safety. To help with this, the studio staff members make mini paint containers throughout the week so students do not have to share paint bottles.”

Three Goat Yoga sessions took place outside the Commons from 7-10 p.m. Groups of 50 students got to enjoy an evening yoga class while also playing with baby goats. “I really enjoy doing yoga and it was even more fun with goats,”  Sarah Hanlon ’24 said.

Uptown hosted a petting zoo with local farm animals, including goats, chickens, bunnies and cows. Along with the petting zoo, Uptown had lawn games, festive fall snacks and a mechanical bull. 

“We were very pleased with the large turnout, and it was nice to see everyone maintained social distance and mask wearing while enjoying our fun activities. The snacks and goodies were very popular as well, including caramel apples, apple cider, and popcorn, which were all taken by the end of the night. Overall, it was a grand time, and we’re very excited to host similar events in the future,”  Cole Zehe ’23, the CORE’s executive planner for the Country Fair, said.  

COVID-19 restrictions have made transitioning to University life difficult for many first-year students, but the weekend CAP events have been a great way to meet new people. “I enjoyed going to the Country Fair and getting to meet new people while having fun at the events. My favorite part of the night was getting to ride the mechanical bull and having a caramel apple,” Bella Moore ’24 said.  

“As someone who thrives around animals, being at college can be a rough transition with only the squirrels to fill that role. The goat yoga and the petting zoo on Friday night was a perfect way for animal people to feel more at home. It was so nice to be able to interact with people and pet some cute farm animals in a safe way. Since there aren’t many extracurricular events happening outside of zoom, it really felt like a step towards normalcy while being cautious and safe,” Gianna Rubel ’22 said.