The IUS Fall Festival kicked off Harvest Homecoming with record breaking numbers of 3,000-4,000 people.
“Last year the weather is hot and only 300 people attended the event but this year the weather is gorgeous and we are expecting a much higher attendance,” Jenny Wolf, director of university communications, said.
Many families came to enjoy the festival food, games, float rides, the free concert and the Harvest Homecoming Balloon launch.
“I am looking forward to the balloon launch and to seeing the different balloons this year,” Lindsey Collins said.
Wolf said IU Southeast opens the campus up for the balloon launch to help the campus become more recognized in the local community.
“We like to let the community know that we are here,” Wolf said.
IUS fraternities and sororities volunteered to run the gaming booths. The Zeta Phi Beta sorority was in charge of the mini basketball booth.
“Well first, volunteering is very important to us. It also helps promote our sorority and gives us an opportunity to give back to the community,” Che’Reme Vincent, sociology senior and Zeta Phi Beta member, said.
Along with fraternities and sororities volunteering for the community there was another group of unique individuals who were there to lend a helping hand.
More than 130 motorcycle participants rode 128 miles for college tuition of Floyd County and parked their bikes at IUS’s Fall Festival to start off Harvest Homecoming.
“We started down at Riverfront Park in New Albany and ended here after 128 miles of riding,” J. Douglass said.
“We do this to ride and enjoy the scenery,” Gary Harris said.
After the motorcyclists made their entrance the crowd of people began to shift from the games and food section of the festival to the concert where Your Vegas was to play. Karen Brady, administrative assistant in Alumni Affairs, booked the nationally recognized band to draw a bigger crowd to campus.
“I heard them play before at Headliners last April. I thought if we could get a bigger name band like one who has been on tour before it would help us with the turnout,” Brady said. “The band is from Leeds, England but based out of New York City.”
Brady said it was no easy task to book such a big band for the fall festival and to hope that a different approach to gather a crowd would pay off.
“We wanted to do something different so I was given the duty,” Brady said. “I had to get in touch with their manager and once I was able to get them booked the production manager told us how to layout the stage. It’s been weeks of work to be able to get everything together and book the band.”
By ERICA SELLERS
Staff Writer
emseller@ius.edu
