Eastern held its annual Spring Fest on April 25–May 1 in celebration of a successful academic year on campus. This year’s fest was themed “Destination Eastern” and featured a carnival, concert, fireworks and more. Sponsors included the Campus Activity Board (CAB), Student Government Association (SGA) and Office of Student Activities.  

“After a couple years of not having a traditional Spring Fest week due to the pandemic, it was exciting to see everything pan out the way I had planned… by bringing back old traditions students love,” said Taylor Lavery, CAB’s special events coordinator. “The feedback has been positive, and I love that the students really enjoyed each event!”

The festivities kicked off Monday night, April 25, with magician, comedian and Guinness World Record-holder John Cassidy, who performed magic tricks and comedy for students in the Betty R. Tipton Room. Tuesday evening was “Destination Eastern Dinner,” a CAB-Chartwells collaboration that included frog-shaped cookie decorating, a DJ and the assembly of donation bags for the university’s Shawn’s Cupboard and Willimantic’s Covenant Soup Kitchen.        

Wednesday was bingo in the Betty Tipton Room, where students competed for a variety of prizes. On Thursday evening students gathered for the “After Dark Park,” a pop-up park with glowing swings, seesaws, corn hole and decorations. Two food trucks offered concessions as DJ Fire played music.

A carnival and fireworks entertained guests on Friday. Classic rides like a Ferris wheel, scrambler, flying swings and Roll-O-Plane occupied the Fine Arts Instructional Center (FAIC) parking lot, as well as fried dough and shaved ice trucks. More than 900 guests attended the carnival throughout the day. Fireworks concluded the night at the Mansfield Sports Complex.

On Saturday, students watched Finding Nemo on a large inflatable screen outside in the FAIC amphitheater. And on Sunday, Spring Fest concluded with a concert headlined by Swae Lee in the Geissler Gymnasium.

“We were very happy with the turnout we had this year,” said Alyssa Duffy, assistant director of Student Activities. “Students came out each night of the week and participated in a variety of activities. Seeing the students’ excitement regarding the return of traditional events such as the carnival and spring concert was rejuvenating for the campus community, and a true testament to our revitalization efforts!”