On September 26th, there was music, laughter and activities everywhere as students, faculty and community members swarmed the campus mall dodging in and out of the crowd visiting as many booths as possible while carrying their bags full of goodies.

According to the EWU website The Neighborhood Festival, was put on by Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership (SAIL). The Festival consisted of businesses ranging from the EWU bookstore to The Edge Church. As people walked around the mall, booths were eagerly telling them about their business and the people were eager for free stuff.

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Photo contributed by EWU Flickr

Jeff Sanders, EWU Theatre department, attends Neighbor Festival at the Eastern campus on Sept. 26.

Dr. Rob Collins from the Cheney Spinal Care said he thinks this event has great opportunities for new students to discover what Cheney can offer, and for businesses to get their name out.

“You gotta get out there, meet people and let people know that you’re out there,” said Collins.

Andy Ulrich, Edge Church worship pastor agreed with Collins about the opportunities to businesses, especially small ones.

“I’ve seen a ton of small businesses here and I think it is pretty beneficial for them to get their name out,” said Ulrich.

As the day progressed many people were carrying around bags stuffed with their goodies, and information on businesses.

“I really think this event is important because this is the time we get the new students. This is a great way for them to know what Eastern has to offer, as well as the local community and what they have to offer. I think this is something Eastern should carry on for many years,” said EWU bookstore PR intern Mimi Mulambo.