On Saturday, Sept. 26, the Vassar Outing Club (VOC) and Student Music Union (StuMU) put on their annual Fall Fest, despite the persistent threat of nor’easter winds and rain. On the day of the event, the clubs’ executive boards made the decision to move the event to Cushing House’s Parlor, instead of on the Blodgett Lawn, where it has historically occurred. For students and families alike, this event is a celebration to commemorate the weekend and the start of fall. VOC Co-President Jack Cellucci ’28 explained, “Traditionally, we host Fall Fest on parents weekend to show parents just how artsy the student body really is.”
VOC and StuMU each contribute to Fall Fest using their unique talents to gather the resources necessary for a successful event. It is a team effort for VOC, with the entire executive board coming together to organize seasonally festive activities and snacks. On Friday, I spotted Cellucci wheeling a cart of eight giant pumpkins out of Adam’s Fairacre Farms for the event’s pumpkin carving table. The organization sent out a pie contest form to students to submit their best creations. They also purchased autumnal snacks to fuel attendees’ fall spirit. Additionally, VOC collaborates with Vassar Greens, an organization dedicated to promoting sustainability on campus, to set up a miniature version of their “Free Market.” Together, they set out tables stacked with used books and buckets of clothes donated to Vassar Greens by students. “Prints, live music, frolicking, baked goods and vegetable comradery abound in Outing Club’s Fall Fest,” Cellucci said.
While VOC curates the autumnal vibes, StuMU provides the sounds. The organization begins promoting the event two weeks in advance to make sure student musicians sign up to play at the event. Their goal is to match the music to the fun and crunchy atmosphere that VOC creates. StuMU President Sierra Iames ’27 explained, “Working with performers, we create a setlist and prepare our equipment for show day.” A variety of artists perform their genre of music, from soft acoustic arrangements to some more upbeat contributions, with all the fixings including drums and electric guitars. Iames added, “This year, the rain impacted our usual presence outside on a stage and wide, open lawn, but our relocation to Cushing House allowed us to emanate the cozy atmosphere and get the artists and audience closer together than ever before.” The setup felt simple and intimate, with just a drum kit and some microphone stands for artists to breathe life into. Next to the kit sat two big, beautiful Fender amps stacked on top of each other beside a tall lamp that provided warm light to the space. The chairs were arranged so audience members had room to sit or stand and appreciate the music.
Musicians such as Iames and Jack Frederick ’28, as well as Brynne Mershon ’27 and Naomi Sullins ’27 of Dovetail, contributed to the event’s collection of soothing sounds, each with a guitar in hand. During Dovetail’s set, a member of the crowd sketched the scene on a large drawing board, attracting their own audience as people peered over their shoulder. The duo played mostly originals and covered “Twilight” by Elliot Smith. Dovetail has played at Fall Fest every year since the band’s conception. Mershon commented, “We really love the event because it’s the first chance a lot of folks get to perform at Vassar, so you get to meet a lot of new people and hear them play in front of people for the first time—it always feels like a very chill, welcoming environment.” Frederick’s set consisted of a song that was written the morning of the performance, as well “From the Morning” by Nick Drake and “Seasons” by Chris Cornell. Parents and their students stood swaying in the back as other student musicians gathered close to the performing artists, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor.
Simultaneously, parents and their students poked knives into pumpkins, carving friendly jack-o’-lanterns. Attendees dug through the free clothing bins, and shuffled around the snack table, emptying the jugs of apple cider and containers of muffins. The top three creations in this year’s pie contest were named Mia’s pecan pie, South Commons number five’s granola pie and Cellucci’s cornelian pie. All of this activity was accompanied by the smoky scent of freshly popped popcorn wafting from the old-fashioned popcorn machine at the snack table. With the Cushing House front door propped open, people spilled in and out of the parlor all afternoon.
This collaborative event is always a marker of the seasons changing at Vassar from the hot days spent with sticky legs glued to classroom chairs, to the cold mornings that turn into warm, sunny afternoons. I remember making connections at Fall Fest my freshman year that I still have today, meeting new friends’ parents and squeezing as many butts onto my picnic blanket as possible. VOC and StuMU have successfully built an iconic tradition for many members of the Vassar community in spite of the hecticness of Families Weekend.