Fall festivities – Homecoming and Autumn Fest at RWU

By Sam Croteau, Herald Contributor – November 3

This past Saturday, October 22, seniors Justin Robinson and Sarah Quinn were crowned Homecoming King and Queen of the 2016 school year. The coronation was held in the Gym Recreation Center as families and students gathered for lunch and watched the ceremony. Both of the winning contestants were ecstatic with their new accomplishments.

Homecoming King Justin Robinson, from Thompson, Connecticut, only transferred to RWU last fall but is already very involved in the Roger Williams community where he holds multiple positions in different programs. Justin is an Architecture major and he is a Residence Assistant at RWU, as well as the treasurer of the RWU Dance Club. He also works at the design center on campus and served as a Orientation Assistant this past summer.

Sarah Quinn of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, who took the Homecoming Queen title, is also extremely involved and dedicated to various clubs and programs at RWU. Sarah studies Communications & Media Studies at RWU, with minors in Architecture, Graphic Design, and Marketing. She serves as the lead tour guide on campus, is Vice President of the American Advertising Franchise (AAF), and belongs to the Honors Program as a student ambassador. Sarah also holds a position as the advertising chair for the RWU Chorus program. Additionally, Sarah is president of the Communications Honor Society, LAMBDA PI ETA.

This year’s Autumn Fest took place on Saturday, October 22, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and was located on the Commons Field and inside the Recreation Center. The four-hour long festival was filled with fun activities for students and their families, as well as food trucks and concessions. Inside the Rec Center, guests could find a long row of various carnival games, complete with stuffed animal prizes.

Also located inside the Rec Center was a live band overlooking the games and other fundraisers. Multiple clubs and organizations had tables set up inside selling items, such as hand-made picture frames, to raise money. Additionally, a green screen photo booth was set up for anyone to use.

Situated outside of the Rec Center were more fundraisers, such as a pie throwing contest and dunk tank, to raise money for different charity organizations. There was also a large bouncy house outside for guests. Several food trucks lined the street and crowds of people waited in line for fresh lemonade, popcorn, cotton candy, and fried dough.

Other than typical “carnival food,” the Whoo(pie) Wagon was at the event, which sold numerous flavors of whoopie pies. Other food vendors at the fair were Buddha Belly authentic Chinese food, Presto Strangeo Coffee, and Flat Waves which served pulled pork, chicken, and fish tacos.

The busy event did not stop there, inside the Commons were more fall festivities, including caramel apple making. Also in Commons, families waited in line for personalized graffiti hats and caricatures. Lastly, to tie the fall fest together, free pumpkin carving was located outside the School of Architecture.