Hopkins's fifth annual autumn festival was held last weekend amidst unfavorable weather conditions, with events ranging from the traditional Fall Fest kick-off cookout to the flashy and exciting atmosphere of Casino Night, as well as the electric energy of the Verizon Wireless Concert Tour.
According to undergraduates and Fall Fest staff, Friday's events were successful in attracting a large number of students but attendance at Saturday's events were less than expected due to the torrential rains produced by the residual effects of Hurricane Kyle.
For the first time, Friday's Fall Fest kick-off Cookout was held inside the Glass Pavilion due to the sporadic rain showers that had?occurred?that day. More than a 1,000 Hopkins students and faculty attended the event, which featured a local band. The attendance level was moderate compared to the Beach barbeque at the beginning of September which garnered more than 1,500 students. For the third year running, Zeffert and Gold provided catering, which received overall positive reviews from the student body.
"The food is pretty good. It's way better than the FFC. But I'm hungry, so I'll eat anything," sophomore Will Choi said.
The relatively small size of the Glass Pavilion was unable to shelter the hundreds of students who came to eat and socialize from Friday's ongoing rain showers. Many students were deterred by the crowd and long lines and simply went back to their dorms after they received food from the caterers.
"The cookout was fine. I enjoyed the food," sophomore Alice Wu said. "But the tables were packed, the room [was] so full, and there were students [who] were sitting outside of the Glass Pavilion too. All you could do was get your food and go back."
"It sucks that we weren't able to enjoy the beginning of Fall Fest with a day on the Beach like we do every year. I miss seeing cute kids playing with the dogs and the freshmen playing Ultimate Frisbee," computer science major Jeremy Weiss said.
"It's unlucky that it had to rain, but I don't think it does too much to lessen the movie experience. You're out with your friends to have a good time and enjoy the movie. Don't forget the free popcorn either," graduate student Amanuel Alemu said.
The major showcase of this year's Fall Fest was the premiere of Hopkins Engaged, the focal event of both Fall Fest and the Young Alumni Weekend. As the brainchild of sophomore Dan Teran, the aim of Hopkins Engaged was to make political activism approachable and attractive to the largely apathetic Hopkins's undergraduates.
Many of Saturday's events were hindered by the?intensification?through the night of Tropic Storm Kyle. According to an Emergency Department official, Baltimore received five inches of rain and experienced its worst flooding since 2004.
Aside from Hopkins Engaged, the most anticipated event of Fall Fest was the Verizon Wireless Concert Tour sponsored by Hopkins Organization for Programming and Hopkins Engaged. As musical acts are usually held in The Ralph O'Connor Recreation Center, dwindling rain did not discourage students from packing the recreation center. The live opening acts varied from indie sensation Lights to the power pop of Cute is What We Aim For.
"The rain sucks, but what can you do? You just gotta keep playing," bassist for Cute is What We Aim For Fred Cimato said.
The main act of the evening was alternative rock band Boys Like Girls. The musicians entertained more Hopkins students compared to any other Fall Festival attraction.
"Lights? Wow ... She's definitely a cutie. I kind of want her," a sophomore who wished to remain anonymous said.
For students unwilling to pay $10 for concert tickets but were interested in taking risks, Casino Night at Levering's Great Hall allowed students to play a variety of games such as blackjack, craps, hold'em, poker and roulette. Many students who attended Casino Night were impressed by the professionalism of the event.
"I liked it a lot. It definitely should've gone on longer though, because more people showed up by the end. They probably came after the concert. What got me was how legit they were. Not just kids at a plastic table but actual gambling tables with people hired to be dealers and everything," applied mathematics major Eileen Huang said.
After the concert and casino night, many students trekked through rain puddles to the Glass Pavilion for the traditional and popular Fall Fest Breakfast. At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, students enjoyed a buffet full of various breakfast treats of eggs, pancakes, sausage patties and more.
"It's great to have a place to relax after a night out or studying, and you can't complain about free food," sophomore biology major Chukwudi Utomi said.
More than 700 students showed up for breakfast in the Glass Pavilion, though most ended up waiting in long lines before getting their meals. Some students, though, were displeased with the taste of the course offerings.
"The midnight breakfast wasn't very good. I tried most of the stuff, but they were out of pancakes, and I remember the eggs were definitely fake. By the time I finished and wanted seconds, the line was extremely long and I was like 'Screw it.' and left," chemical and biomolecular engineer major Jeffrey Chu said.
