With Halloween right around the corner, the Office of Community Engagement is preparing for Harvest Fest, which will be held Oct. 30. “Harvest Fest is an annual event for all of the [kindergarten] through fifth graders in the local community to come onto campus and have a safe and fun environment to trick or treat and celebrate Halloween,” said Aunja Norland, Eagle Volunteers program coordinator.

During this event there will be approximately 350 children and their parents touring the campus in groups lead entirely by student volunteers. Tour groups will be departing from the PUB starting at 3:15 p.m. and will culminate in the Multi-Purpose Room where there will be a carnival open until

6 p.m. Tours will consist of 30 children, their parents and six student volunteers.

The Office of Community Engagement partners with Cheney Kiwanis and a few clubs and organizations on campus for table rentals and carnival set-up.

Students wishing to volunteer can sign up on EagleSync and should report to the PUB Skirt at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 for check-in. Parents of participants can simply show up to the PUB main entrance on the day of the event to sign in their children.

The Office of Community Engagement has designed this event to be family-friendly, and parents will be able to accompany their children on the tours and back to the carnival. Amenities will be available for parents as well as their children, according to Norland. “Thomas Hammer will stay open throughut the event so parents can get their fix,” she said.

This year, Norland said she and the other workers in the Office of Community Engagement were able to secure the Cheney Fire Department as a partner in the event. Provided the fire department is not called out on an emergency, there will be a fire truck for children to tour as well.

Norland’s office has been sponsoring this event for three years, but the event itself has been around for many more. Norland said the kids and parents really seem to enjoy the event as they receive a lot of positive feedback each year.

The event seems to be well received by students as well. EWU senior Nick Halverson said, “I think it’s a great thing that the students of Eastern do for the kids of Cheney.”

Ian Bouchard, also an EWU senior, agreed with Halverson and said, “I like this event because it’s a good way for students to give back to the community.”

Halloween can be stressful because safety is a big concern, but many parents likely still want their children to have fun. That is what Harvest Fest is for. The event takes place during the day so parents can take comfort in the fact that their afternoon will not be shrouded in darkness and they can still give their children a great Halloween.