Campus let out a collective sigh of relief on Monday. This past weekend was the annual Bethel College Fall Festival, which serves as a homecoming/fundraiser/fun time for everyone. Alumni run rampant on campus while their children are prepped to be the next generation of Threshers. It’s one of the biggest weekends for prospective to visit, with 40+ on campus on Friday and more throughout this week.
Fall Fest is scheduled around the first home football game in October, or sometimes the last one in September if the schedule is strange. It starts on the Thursday of that week with the Taste of Newton, an event in downtown Newton that brings blocks of food booths together. That’s always one of my favorite parts because it brings together the Bethel community and the Newton community. There’s all sorts of concerts and performances of local groups from jazz bands to the Azteca dancers.
Friday is kind of an awkward in-between day with the STEM symposium in the afternoon and classes cancelled in the afternoon. The theatre department’s Fall Fest production also starts on Friday evening.
Saturday is the big day of festivities on campus with a whole list of events and booths on campus. Student groups and a few outside organizations use Fall Fest as a major fundraiser. It’s a lot of food like the Taste of Newton. The festivities conclude on Sunday with a campus worship service at Bethel College Mennonite Church and the final production of the play or musical.
It’s quite a stressful weekend for students involved in those activities, but the rewards are great. Besides the fundraising from having so many people on campus it’s also a time to reconnect with recent alumni and family. And don’t forget the great food!