The Pumpkin Palooza will finally return to its full form. The palooza is a Halloween tradition every year. Now the student body will finally see the full potential of this event after past years affected by COVID-19.
Hosted by the student government, the event will be on Friday, Oct. 27. The event will take place at Fiske Quad and there will be fall-themed activities including a pumpkin carving contest, lots of halloween candy handouts and more.
With tables from different clubs and organizations coming, there will be different activities, giveaways and food to expect, according to students running the event.
Mary Ronning, student body vice president and co-chair of the event committee said, “We have about 50 tables that student government and a lot of different clubs and organizations will be using.”
The pumpkin carving contest happens every year, and Ronning said they will keep that tradition alive.
Ronning is a junior and has not been able to see this event at its full potential because of COVID. When asked if she was nervous to be putting on an event like this for the first time with no COVID protocols, she said, “Yes, I think there are always some nerves when putting on an event of this scale that is free and open to the entire student body because you want everyone to have fun and enjoy their time at Keene State.”
COVID affected big events like these in past years, Ronning said. Now that these events are able to happen in relatively full swing, students who may never have gotten to experience this event, such as upperclassmen will also get to see this at full potential the same way that first-years will for the first time; the goal of the student government for this year’s traditional event.
Ronning said, “I think it is really great that we were able to persevere through this difficult time and we are able to put on these events at a larger scale again.”
Brooke Richards, student body president and co-chair of the event committee, has played a major role in planning this event. A big factor that goes into traditional events like this and spring carnival is getting the word to first-years on what these events are. Richards explained the event as, “One of the biggest events that student government puts on, which coincides with Spring Carnival, so it is not only important for student engagement, but it also helps to provide a much-needed morale boost towards the middle of the semester. Overall, it is a really fun event and a great way to spend time with friends as well as get involved and see some of the clubs offered and potentially get involved.”
Richards and Ronning said the event is going to continue as a tradition and they hope it will only grow.
Ava Pittman can be contacted at
apittman@kscequinox.com
