Bucknell’s CORE club at the CAP Center puts on the hometown street-style fair known as Fall Fest every year, bringing students together for an evening complete with all the typical trimmings of a carnival. From Ferris wheels to food trucks, students are able to enjoy a night of relaxation, treats and fun.
Rides, resplendent with flashing lights, greeted attendees as they walked up to the event. On top of the ferris wheel, rides like the Tornado and a giant slide were set up. Maya Jayroe ’28 went on all the rides, but said that “the Tornado was [her] favorite […] it was really fun.”
Set up beside the rides were a variety of food trucks, each sporting a different type of classic carnival food: french fries, fried oreos, corn dogs and funnel cakes, all limitless delicious bites. Sunshine Shows, which also provided the carnival rides, hosted a truck that served corndogs, fried oreos and funnel cakes; JCB Events provided trucks serving waffle fries and orangeade, the latter of which made an appearance at Bison Refresh earlier this semester.
Lines snaked around the carts and throughout the parking lot. Julia Fiorello ’28 praised her fresh french fries, saying “the french fries are really crispy, and I like the texture. This is the best way to mix it up from the dining hall food.”
Beside the rides were an assortment of classic carnival games. Contestants could step right up and try to hit a balloon with a dart or shoot a basketball, all in the hopes of earning a prize.
And on top of the many activities and refreshments available, there was also a set of student performers providing a musical backdrop to the night. Both Ava D’Arcy ’28 and Allie Byron ’27 described the music as one of their favorite parts of the night. D’Arcy “liked the live music and being able to listen to some of the bands on campus,” and Byron expressed that “they’re the best part! Shoutout to Keeping Company, [one of the bands that performed].”
Thanks to the Executive Council and Planning Committee from CORE, Fall Fest was assembled and went off just as they hoped. Emilia Blechschmidt ’26, President of CORE, loved the planning process for the event. “It’s so cool to put so much work into planning it and then see everyone [attend and] have fun here.”
Due to all the rain that fell during the week leading up to Fall Fest, the event had to be moved to the Smith lot from its original location on Sojka Lawn. Brent Papson, Director of Campus Activities & Student Media, explained that events like Fall Fest, which Bucknell has hosted for years, are usually simple, because the same vendors are used and the event is set up in the same way. This year, though, he and his team had to pivot last-minute to their “wet plan” to deal with the saturated lawn, which would have been unable to handle the weight of the rides and trucks.
Though Fall Fest looked different from previous, “dry plan” years, Papson was satisfied with the result. “At the end of the day,” he reflected, “it worked so well that we may consider this [relocation] as part of the plan moving forward.”
