The Flash Activities Board ran its annual Fall Fest in collaboration with Haymaker Farmers’ Market for the first time with hopes of getting students to explore the variety of Kent’s locally owned business. 

“I want to see the farmer’s market here again because it was just amazing how many people it drew in,” Lucille Schneider, president of FAB, said. 

Multiple freebies were given out to students, all of which were purchased by FAB to help attract a bigger crowd. A line spanning from the freebie tables to half the way to the Centennial A sign was formed purely by students looking to get their very own mugs and vouchers. 

“The partnership itself was awesome because I was able to buy amounts from different vendors throughout the farmer’s market for students to get a free item,” Schneider said. “I did that intentionally so that students would also kind of learn a bit more about the farmer’s market, so that they could see what’s out there.”

Some of the freebies given to each student included: 500 mugs, 300 bags of Popped! popcorn —100 of each flavor— and even free food vouchers for the farmers market’s vendor products.

“I love the event,” Oliva Mandato, a freshman business management major, said. “It’s so nice having everybody come in from the community just to see all the local vendors.” 

Many attendees wandered around the fair, hands full of fluffy pastries and cafe drinks, all in the vicinity of the Centennial Green. Most vendors had tons of students lining up to get fall snacks, plants and other products. Even students not affiliated with Kent had a chance to grab a bite. 

“It’s my first time being up here and I really really liked it,” Julia Costea, a Walsh University student and friend of Mandato’s, said. “There are a lot of vendors here and they’re obviously very good — and delicious.” 

Mandato and Costea were one of many with noticeably delicious looking pastries from vendor Brimfield Bread Oven, a bakery situated just ten minutes from Kent State University. 

“We like to be at these events as much as we can,” Genevieve Smith, owner of Brimfield Bread Oven, said. “I’m one of the members of the Haymaker’s board, so I love being involved in the local food economy and supporting local businesses.” 

According to Schneider, the Haymaker Farmers’ Market originally planned to attend the Black Squirrel Festival, held in September.

“So we’ve been working through a lot of different collaborations this year and we want to branch out a bit more,” Schneider said. “We felt like [the vendors] would fit better at Fall Fest; it fits perfectly.”

The fall-themed festival also had tons of activities, such as a photo booth, carriage ride, a self-serve s’more and hot cocoa station, craft-tables, live music and much more. 

“My personal favorite part of the fest was the craft. I came up with it from a video I saw on Instagram and I was like, ‘Oh! I wonder if this will work for Fall Fest,’” Schneider said.

One of the more crowded parts of the festival were the craft tables located in the back left corner of the festival, closest to the Eastway center. The tables had tons of colorful cloths, strings and other crafty items laid out for students to customize their own tote bags. 

“I wanted students to have a tote bag so that they could go to the farmer’s market then and fill it with different things,” Schneider said.

Students sat at the two tables set up for them, with needles and cloth in hand, to make a mix-and-match tote built just for them.

“I really liked this since I’m always short on bags because I’m an art major and always have miscellaneous things I have to carry” Kyli Panagopoulos, a sophomore studio art major, said. “The fact I could personalize it and get a free tote bag actually really helps me.”

Some even took a seat on the grass in hopes to embrace the fall vibes. Nicol Almeida, a freshman theater studies major, sewed up a purple and pink skull tote bag behind the craft tables on the grass.

“I’m starting to be in the Halloween mood, and for me, making some bag and putting all my personality inside of it is fantastic and making art is really relaxing for the mind,” Almeida said. 

Nicole Cross, a senior marketing major and vice president of FAB, ran the crafts table.

Live music was played by a calypso band, which FAB has invited to perform at the event for years. 

“A fan favorite of FAB’s is calypso music and the vibes are really fun,” Cross said. 

The festivities brought tons of students together with all different types of activities and opportunities to interact with each other, some stopping by to just make totes, to hang out with friends and to get know some vendors. 

“I got here with a group of friends around 15 minutes ago,” Axspen Cooper, a junior music major, said. “I’m excited to go to Kline Honey because they have honey sticks there … they sell them in the deli market, but they’re just cheaper over there and the guy working there is chill to talk to.”

Even FAB members had a chance to have some fun despite the large turnout and workload that came with pulling the event together.

“There are so many people here,” Ella Thomas, a sophomore visual communications design major and member of FAB’s event staff, said. “This is my first time doing Fall Fest and I think it’s doing pretty well. I like that we have a bunch of different stands from downtown businesses because it’s just such a good way to connect students to off-campus places.” 

In the end, FAB staff said they had a great time despite this being the first year the activities board introduced Haymaker Farmers’ Market to the event.

“I was a little worried just because we were changing things up a little bit and I was like, ‘Oh I hope that we’re going to have like a lot of people here,’ and I’m really happy with the turnout,” Schneider said.

Elaina Matricardi is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected]