On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Center for Student Engagement hosted Vol Night Long: Big Orange State Fair. The event was the university’s version of a state fair, complete with inflatables, food and live music. It also marked the return of The Local concert series.
Brooke Heidebrecht, the president of entertainment for Campus Events Board and junior management major, talked about CEB’s goals with their events.
“We plan events essentially for students for a breather from school, trying to do something fun and an opportunity that’s free and on campus,” Heidebrecht said. “Our goal is just to get students involved, engaged, to meet friends, have fun, all free of cost.”
This installment of Vol Night Long aimed to bring the state fair feel to campus.
“Our event with The Big Orange State Fair is kinda like your typical fair,” Heidebrecht said. “We went into it booking fair food. We have funnel cakes. We have fried oreos, your typical food like that, as well as so many inflatables like axe throwing and whatnot.”
The Big Orange State Fair had no shortage of ways to take a break from the stress of schoolwork. The Student Union Plaza was filled with inflatable games and obstacle courses. There was free food from Penne for Your Thoughts and Chuck’s Concessions. Students could stuff their own stuffed animals. There was even live music from Knoxville’s own Solstice Band.
Plenty of students were in attendance and hanging out with old friends or making new ones. The lines to stuff your own plushie or get fair food stretched throughout the Student Union Plaza. Students were almost always lined up to do the obstacle course or take photos in the photo booth. The event was a welcome break from the stress of school life.
Helena Fuchs is an exchange student in her third year with an undeclared major. She attended Vol Night Long with graduate exchange student Victoria Kotlyarenko.
“I just wanted to come out after homework,” Fuchs said. “I thought it would be really fun to just hang out in the evening with friends for just an hour, and it’s been really fun so far.”
The stuff your own plushie station was a hit among the students. Until the plushies ran out, the line was always the longest — even longer than the food options — and almost every student could be spotted with a plushie in their hands or poking out a pocket or backpack.
“I think it’s really, really nice, especially all the activities here,” Kotlyarenko said. “I really liked stuffing the animals. It was really, really cool.”
Many students stayed at the event for nearly its entire duration. Solstice Band played their set consisting of a mix of covers and original songs well into the night and many students gathered around to watch.
Solstice Band has played sets for other CSE events, like last semester’s Party in the Park, so it’s fitting that they were there to kick off the return of The Local concert series. The Local was last held in 2021 and features performances from artists and bands from the Knoxville area.
Currently, there is not any information on when the next concert in the series will be held, but in the past CSE has released that information closer to the date of the concert.
CSE will be hosting many more events throughout the semester, such as the Fall Family Craft Hour on Sept. 22 from 5-7 p.m. For more information on that event and other future events, check out their Instagram for events that will be coming up soon or their website for a full schedule of events.
Students gather around the Student Union Plaza to watch Knoxville's own Solstice Band perform on Sept. 20, 2023.
