ACE’s Halloween celebration

By carolinianweb on November 2, 2016 • ( 0 )

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Jamie Biggs
Staff Writer

The week before Halloween isn’t normally met with seventy degree temperatures and the daily struggle of deciding whether boots or flip-flops are more appropriate for the day’s weather.

Halloween falls during one of the busiest times of the semester for college students, with just one month left until studying and exams occupy all of our time.

This year, the holiday takes place on a Monday, making its celebration even more difficult to coordinate with a college student’s’ busy schedule. The unseasonably warm temperature, combined with inconvenient timing, has left me feeling a certain disconnect from Halloween this year. Luckily, events on UNCG’s campus this week, allowed for a brief immersion into the Halloween spirit that many may be missing out on.

The Halloween Celebration was one event on campus this week that permitted a momentary retreat from reality. UNCG’s programming board, Activities and Campus Events (ACE), hosted the celebration. ACE is responsible for many of the free events that ensue across campus, some of which tend to correspond with holidays.

Students from ACE plan and organize unique opportunities that allow students a typically expense-free experience. Recently, they held their annual Stuff-A-Plush event, in which students chose and stuffed their own stuffed animals. However, the event was so popular that they ran out of the stuffed animals, before the event was even over. This was unsurprising however, being that Stuff-A-Plush is one of their biggest and most widely attended events.

The organization invited people to join them on Wednesday, Oct. 26, to partake in a Halloween Celebration. The celebration itself took place between 11:00 to 2:00 p.m., allowing optimal time for students to take a break between classes or stop by on their way to lunch.

ACE welcomed students to join them at this time in the Maple room of the Elliot University Center, where pumpkins and supplies to decorate them could be found in abundant supply. An ACE member greeted you at the doorway with a table full of candy that was free for the taking.

A UNCG student ID and a few minutes out of your day, were the only requirements necessary, for participation in this free and festive event.

Upon entering the Maple room, participating students found tables filled with supplies for personalizing their own styrofoam pumpkin. Some attendees, chose to adorn their pumpkins with a UNCG insignia, while others opted for more Halloween-themed designs. Glitter, paint and other craft materials for decorating, were provided for students to demonstrate their artistic abilities, while at the same time, creating a Halloween keepsake.

In addition to the pumpkin crafting, ACE provided other draws to the event.

Single and multi-player video games lined a wall of the room, inviting students to step up and test their skills either solo, or with friends. Playing these games, was a great alternative for those who were uninterested in decorating, or a welcome addition to the already exciting decorating.

A table full of candy and prizes sat beside the video games. Students who took advantage of the games, were welcome to take their pick of a prize when they were done playing.

A Halloween-themed photo booth rounded out the celebration. Props were provided for students to dress up in and hold while having their pictures taken.

Among the props were masks, witch hats as well as other, less traditional Halloween attire. Participants were encouraged to document their experience at the Halloween Celebration with a trip to the photo booth, whether they be alone, or with the accompaniment of friends.

Students who took a few minutes out of their day to attend this event, received a custom pumpkin in addition to photos from the booth, free of charge. More importantly though, ACE’s Halloween Celebration, allowed for a departure from the strict schedule that most students abide by, on a day-to-day basis.

As our lives become more hectic with the passage of time, it becomes apparent that we have fewer opportunities to engage in those experiences which we once placed such emphasis on in childhood. Opportunities such as the Halloween Celebration, allow us to revert back to a time when we spent the entire week preparing for and counting down the days until the holiday.