Everyone who becomes a Lancer at Longwood eventually hears about Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is one of the biggest events to take place all year on campus. Since we don’t have a football team, Oktoberfest is sort of like Longwood’s version of homecoming.
At this huge celebration, there are rows and rows of different booths representing organizations and clubs on campus. Some examples are the Honors Association (HSA), the photography club, various ministries on campus. Basically any club or organization you can think of was represented by a booth at Oktoberfest.
At all of these various booths, the main goal was to raise money for the organization. In trying to raise money, many of the booths were selling different types of food—everything from cupcakes to “Oreo balls” to hot dogs and hamburgers.
However, not every booth was selling edible treats. Some had different activities you could pay for or handcrafted items you could purchase. For example, at the photography club booth, you could pay $2 to use their props and have a Polaroid picture taken of you and your friends. (My roommate and I did this—it’s such a cute picture). Or at the HSA booth you could buy little plastic pumpkins or hand-painted coasters! I am a member of the HSA and I volunteered to help sell these items in their booth.
In making my way around all of the different booths I ended up buying some really cool items. (I bought more than I thought I would, but Oktoberfest is only once a year, so it’s OK, right?) Among the items I couldn’t resist were a small record that had been painted blue and says “Longwood University”, a cute hand band, some Longwood stickers of the Rotunda and the Princeps crown symbol, which represents good luck. (There are various crowns on the sidewalks of campus and you’re supposed to step on them for good luck).
Not only is there so much to see, do and eat at Oktoberfest, but there are also live performances taking place. The artists this year included a DJ, a rapper and a country singer. My friend Makayla (see photo at top) and I really enjoyed the performance by the rapper named Bryce Vines—he killed it! There were also some activities you could do for free at the event, like riding a bull (a fake one, of course); an inflatable jousting arena, where I went up against Daniel Easter, who’s another member of the My Life As A Freshman project (I think I won but don’t tell him that); and a huge inflatable Twister board!
I would definitely say my first Oktoberfest experience was a success. I had so much fun volunteering in the HSA booth; taking pictures with my friends and Daniel at the free photo booth; buying some cool things; eating good food; and listening to the live performances. It was a blast!
No matter what year you’re in in college or if you’re just visiting Longwood, I would highly recommend you enjoy all of the Oktoberfest festivities!
Note: Heather submitted this entry soon after Oktoberfest. This late posting is due to an oversight by the blog administrator.
