Looking around the sustainability farm last Saturday, I saw the site come to life in a way I’ve never witnessed before. This is my second year living at the sustainability farm, and that afternoon was the most vibrant I have ever seen the site. There were people scattered all over, encompassing the farm house in a horseshoe shape.

Laughter filled the air as people were playing cornhole on the side lawn and enjoying fall snacks underneath the tent. Student bands, The Flat Tires and The Twelve Steps, played sweet tunes to get people in the mood to celebrate all things fall-related. Students and professors came together to enjoy a beautiful fall afternoon on their own university’s farm, a farm that many of them hadn’t been to before.

This event wouldn’t have been as successful if it weren’t for the help of the outing club. About two weeks before the event was planned, I found out that the outing club was planning on hosting their annual Oktoberfest the same day and same time as our Harvest Fest. I quickly reached out to members of the outing club to get their opinion on combining the two events into one big event hosted at the sustainability site. I was met with excitement as the outing club loved the idea of collaborating to put on one event.

Waking up on Saturday morning, I had a ball of excitement sitting in my stomach. We had been working really hard the last couple weeks and it all added up to this day. I was a bit nervous early in the morning because the forecast called for rain and scattered thunderstorms, but as the chainsaw wood carver, the horse drawn carriage and the blacksmith arrived, my fears quickly melted away.

They all stated that a little rain wasn’t going to stop them. Then, the bands started to show up and unload their gear and next a woman rolled up with her Oxen to give people rides on the sled which dragged behind them. Everything was finally starting to come together.

As it approached starting time for the event, the sky started to clear up and students started arriving. The Sustainability House was very happy with the turnout of the event. If you asked me a week before the event how many people I thought would come, I would’ve said close to 50. And you can imagine how happy I was to see about 200 people stop by during the event. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to enjoy this event with us and experience all that the sustainability site has to offer.