Food, fun mark Fall Fest

Music blaring from speakers, thousands cramming onto one road and students riding an inflatable tiger — all the unmistakable signs of the beginning of another year at UNC.

Fall Fest was in full swing Sunday night as approximately 18,000 students overtook South Road looking for friends, checking out all the on-campus organizations and, of course, scavenging for free food.

“It’s just a good way to see people,” said Jessica Harden, a junior from Durham. “It’s like a big block party.”

For upperclassmen, the festival is a way to catch up with old friends they haven’t seen all summer.

“It’s like a big welcome-back session,” said Yvonne Brooks, a junior from Greenville.

For freshmen, the late-night event is a way to meet their new classmates and sign up for as many organizations as possible.

But for everyone involved, Fall Fest is about having fun before starting another school year, as freshman Mary Bigelow found out while she and her friends played with an oversized soccer ball on Hooker fields.

“The rules don’t really apply here,” she said.

Students who wandered down onto Hooker fields found a pit of physical fun, with diversions such as dodgeball, wrestling, wall climbing and an inflatable obstacle course.

“You just bounce all the way down,” said freshman Molly Cadick after she made her way down the inflatable tiger slide.

More than 400 organizations set up tables along South Road to enlist and recruit new students.

“For all the freshmen who are interested in joining clubs, this is a great way to promote it,” said Jessica Hores, a junior from New York who manned the table for Best Buddies — the largest subgroup of Campus Y.

Student attendees stocked up on all the free things that groups passed out, ranging from soda and pizza to sweatshirts.

“It lures them in,” said Hores, whose organization was giving out candy.

More people than ever wanted to participate in the event, said Geoff Baldwin, technical services manager of the Carolina Union, who was in charge of assigning student groups to the two stages at Fall Fest.

“A lot more people wanted to perform than I had a place to put them,” he said.

Stage performances and buzzing crowds lingered on until the wee hours of the morning, leaving student volunteers with only the mess to clean up at about 2 a.m.

Local businesses said the event was a great way to engage the University community.

“We love contributing to the needs of the students here,” said Greg Gerrans, general manager of Alpine Bagel Cafe, which handed out free bagels to students. “We love giving back.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.