SPEC hosts fall-themed festival on College Green with axe throwing, pumpkin decorating, free food

Penn's Social Planning and Events Committee hosted its annual fall-themed SPEC-Fest on Oct. 19 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on College Green.

Students were able to participate in a variety of activities at the festival, such as axe throwing, pumpkin and face painting, a 360 photo booth, and bounce houses. In addition to the soft pretzels and apple cider served by SPEC, all food — provided by vendors ranging from Polish food trucks to ice cream trucks — was free of charge. 

SPEC was founded in 1989 and develops campus-wide social and cultural activities. Composed of eight sub-committees, SPEC organizes many events year-round, including the annual Spring Fling concert in April. 

College senior Mia Woodruff, SPEC president and the main coordinator for the festival, explained that SPEC-Fest had been in the works since the summer.

“The bulk of the planning started in the beginning of August, up until the day of the event itself,” Woodruff said. “There were heightened restrictions on this event in particular since we had to work with a lot of different Penn departments, and there was a delayed timeline since we had to give the departments at Penn enough time to give us feedback on our planning. We wanted to plan the event to the best of our ability.”

Woodruff said that she was looking forward to seeing students enjoy the festival.

“I just think it’s so much fun,” Woodruff said. “It’s a stressful time in the semester with midterms. Everybody’s hitting an all-time low with energy, so I want that stress to fade away so that everyone can have a fun time and make those memories at Penn far and in between.”

While the lines for SPEC-Fest were very long, many students expressed enthusiasm for the event. Wharton first year Abbey Takeuchi said that she greatly enjoyed the festival.

“It feels like the college experience,” Takeuchi said while at the event. “I'm really excited about the food, especially the corn. I liked the music, and I'm hoping to do the face painting activity.”

College first year Allan Cruz said that he only learned about SPEC-Fest an hour prior but previously attended SPEC’s trivia night, which he described as “nice and social.” He said that he enjoyed attending SPEC events with his friends and trying new things.

“My friends want[ed] to try jumping on the trampoline,” Cruze said. “We want[ed] to do back loops on that.”

College junior Kara Butler said that she attended SPEC-Fest because of her familiarity with SPEC from attending general body member meetings and her affinity for festivals.

“I was out of the loop last year, so I didn’t know about SPEC-Fest and didn’t get to go at that time,” Butler said. “I learned about SPEC-Fest through the meetings, and I thought it would be cool to come. I especially look[ed] forward to pumpkin painting.” 

SPEC-Fest, previously known as Skimmer Fest, started in 2011 and featured food and hot air balloon rides to celebrate the commencement of the athletic season. In 2022, SPEC-Fest became a fall-themed festival to allow students to relax during the busy time of the semester.