The first ever Fall Fest, an event that featured live music, crafts, a farmers market and a chalk walk, was held on Oct. 11 outside of Reeve Memorial Union and the newly dedicated Leffin Family Terrace.

Students were able to  pick from a variety of fruits and vegetables at the miniature farmers market and even decorate tote bags and baskets provided by Reeve Union Board (RUB). 

Olivia Klessig, the crafty adventures chair for RUB, helped pull the craft together with the Fall Fest. 

“I planned to bring back tote bag decorating this year,” she said. “This year, I wanted to do something more with it though, so I asked if it was possible to do a small farmers market on the side, and then Fall Fest fell into place.”

Klessig said the craft portion of the festival was a hit with students.

“Students absolutely loved this craft. They loved it last year and they loved it even more this year,” Klessig said. “Tote bag decorating is such a unique idea and it goes over really well with the students.”

New this year to the tote bag decorating craft was iron-on patches to go along with the usual paint, which was Klessig’s idea. 

“It was a last-minute idea of mine, and it worked out to be a hit, especially since some students were in a rush to get somewhere else or were not up to painting,” she said. “It definitely helped to give the students options for designing their tote bags.”

Plenty of students attended the event even though it was during a chillier time of year. 

“The turnout was great for an outside event,” Klessig said. “The brisk cool air definitely helped to set everyone into the fall mood, especially while getting to create a fall or Halloween-inspired tote bag and basket.”

The Halloween-inspired theme was one of Klessig’s favorite parts of the event. 

“I really liked everything about the event from the theming to the Halloween and fall iron-on patches, the farmers market and the live music,” she said. 

Klessig also thought this helped students get into the spirit of the month. 

“It all really helped to get students out and involved while getting them excited for the fall season,” she said. 

The event also featured a performance by Brady Lee, a Milwaukee native, up on the Leffin Family Terrace. 

Casie Frentzel, the live music chair for RUB, decided to bring him back for the event since he is a UW Oshkosh alumnus. 

“It was an easy decision,” she said. “He also played at Titan Nights last year (and was a hit) so it was unanimous to want to bring him back.”

Frentzel said the live music at the event helped with the atmosphere. 

“For this event, to have Brady singing while students were shopping at the farmers market or designing a tote bag was great and made the atmosphere more welcoming,” she said. “Students were then able to stick around and listen to him sing.”

The event itself was a success, with many students attending and participating in the different aspects of the event.

“Fall Fest was a new event that RUB was trying out and it was very successful,” Frentzel said. “We had roughly 200, if not more, students attend this event.”

Fall Fest is one of many RUB events this semester, with many more to come.

“There are tons of fun and exciting crafts coming up in the next few weeks and throughout the rest of the school year, so be sure to come on out, enjoy yourself and have some fun,” Klessig said.