Winterfest brings students seasonal fun

Winter activities, crafts and comfort food drew students to the Adanti Student Center Ballroom on Feb. 11 for Winterfest, which served as the university’s spring semester welcome-back event. 

Hosted by the Office of Student Involvement, the new event served as a semester kickoff offering interactive activities, a photo station, custom airbrushed hats and winter-themed games alongside snacks and hot chocolate. 

“We’re really trying to move toward having a lot of signature events that students can look forward to every year,” Vanessa Hunter, a graduate intern for the Office of Student Involvement, said. “This is kind of our big welcome back event to help people get back into the swing of the semester.” 

Organizers said planning began late last semester, with staff coordinating vendors and specialty attractions, including the synthetic ice rink and craft stations. 

Associate Director Eric Lacharity led vendor outreach and activity coordination to determine which winter style features could be safely installed indoors and scaled for student participation. 

“This has been in talks since the end of last semester, and it took a lot of time to call the vendors, lot of coordination to figure out what was possible,” Hunter said. 

The event is part of a broader effort to build recurring campus traditions tied to key points in the academic calendar, particularly at the start of the spring term when engagement can dip due to weather and workload. 

Staff members said Winterfest is intended to function as both a social outlet and a visibility boost for student programming. 

The synthetic ice rink and curling lanes attracted continuous turnout while the snow globe and custom airbrushed hat tables remained busy. 

The hot chocolate and cookie bar remained busy, with many attendees stopping for refreshments between activities. Friend groups attended together while others joined between classes. 

Students described the event as an easy, low-pressure way to socialize without leaving campus. The mix of interactive stations and free food drew both planners and walk-ins. 

Winterfest activities served as a social alternative to smaller tabling events, giving students multiple ways to participate in one space. 

The combination of games, crafts and food options encouraged groups to stay longer and try more than one activity. 

“It just sounded really fun: the activities, the pictures, the hats. And we all didn’t have plans, so we came together,” political science major Emma Gonzalez, a freshman, said. 

She described the event as “fun, delicious and new experiences.” 

Organizers said events like Winterfest are designed not only as entertainment but also as early-semester engagement tools. 

Large, interactive programs give students opportunities to gather, participate and reconnect after the academic break. 

The drop-in format allowed students to participate without registering in advance or committing to a set time block. 

Feedback from this first year will shape how similar events are structured in future schedules and what elements become recurring features. 

“That’s our hope: to carry it on every year,” Hunter said. “If students really enjoy certain things, like the synthetic ice rink or the airbrushed hats, we want to bring those back so people have something to look forward to.”