Two campus groups are organizing substance-free events to offer students who choose not to drink and student-parents a safe Halloween celebration.
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, the Latter-day Saint Student Association will be hosting their second annual OcSOBERfest event for students who choose not want to drink on Halloween.
James Heilpern, president of the Chapel Hill Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion, said he and several of his friends originally came up with the idea in 2007 when they wanted to have a fun time on Halloween without drinking.
“Me and some friends wanted to have a Halloween party that had no alcohol and with came up with the name, OcSOBERfest, as kind of a joke,” he said.
“It originally wasn’t intended to be anything formal, but it became such a success that we decided to have an annual event.”
At OcSOBERfest, participants will be treated to games, movies and free food. The event will be held in the Student Union, room 1505, at 7 pm. and everyone is welcome to attend, according to Facebook invitation sent by members of the group.
The UNC Student Parent Association will be co-hosting two Halloween parties for student parents, one from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Graduate Student Center and a later event at the Baity Hill House
Siobhan Colgan, graduate co-president for the UNC Student Parent Association, said many graduate and undergraduate students have kids and are either unable or unwilling to celebrate Halloween on Franklin Street.
She said the two parties will have many different activities, most of them designed for young children.
“We are going to have lots of arts and crafts activities,” Colgan said.
“And we will also have a raffle with some parent and kid prizes. The raffle is free, it is more like a giveaway thing.”
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