Saint Mary’s celebrates fall, community with Oktoberfest

The Student Activities Board (SAB) at Saint Mary’s celebrated Oktoberfest on Friday. According to board president CJ Twoney, the fall-themed festival is an annual tradition.

“It’s just a great way for everyone to get outside and enjoy the way campus looks in the fall and the weather that we’re blessed with,” Twoney said.

This year, Oktoberfest included pumpkin painting, a photo opportunity, drawings by a caricature artist, a mummy-wrap race, sack races and line dancing taught by the Saint Mary’s Dance Club. Additionally, attendees enjoyed giveaways of hats as well as apple cider and Rise’n Roll doughnuts.

In past years, Oktoberfest has included actives such as horse-drawn carriage rides. Twoney’s favorite part of the event is always the fall colors, she added

Morgan McGuire, co-chair on the traditions board of SAB, said her hope for students attending Oktoberfest is that it will go down as a good memory for many.

“I know that a lot of people say that Oktoberfest is one of their favorite events, so that’s what we hope to do: live up to the expectation and possibly even make it one of their favorite Oktoberfests,” McGuire said.

Freshman Sydney Jaime said she found out about Oktoberfest through BelleTower, an online resource for Saint Mary’s students to get involved in activities around campus.

“I saw it on the BelleTower and I was like, ‘That sounds fun,’ because I love having a fall activity to go to,” Jaime said. She said she enjoyed the “fall aesthetic” of Oktoberfest as well as the caricature artist and the option to paint pumpkins.

Jaime added she appreciates the inclusivity and potential for community building with Oktoberfest.

“I feel like this is one of the things that kind of brings Saint Mary’s together. Like it’s not anything too intense, but it’s something to just do as a fun community,” she said.

Twoney encouraged students from the entire tri-campus community to give Oktoberfest a try.

“Everyone is welcome," Twoney said. “All of SAB’s events are tri-campus welcome, tri-campus friendly.” 

For students at Saint Mary’s, Twoney said events like Oktoberfest are a great way to get involved in campus life.

”[They are] for all of Saint Mary’s,” she said. “It’s not just for one graduation year or one class year that our events are directed towards.”

Looking to the future, Twoney encouraged students to keep their eyes peeled for more SAB events.