Homecoming weekend prevailed despite Hurricane Joaquin.
Photo Credit: Alex Gamboa
Montclair State held its annual Homecoming Carnival, a traditional part of the Homecoming celebration, this past Saturday, Oct. 3. Although Hurricane Joaquin was looming overhead, it did not stop many students, faculty, children and parents from attending the event.
Homecoming is the time of the year when Montclair State’s students and staff welcome back alumni to revisit their years at the university. It is also a time when the community comes together to support their football team, the Montclair State Red Hawks.
Fans cheered for the Red Hawks at Saturday’s game against William Paterson.
Photo Credit: Alex Gamboa
The carnival was held from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 3. Originally, the event was supposed to be held outside, but it was moved inside the Panzer Athletic Center the day before because of the weather. Many adults and students were not too happy about the change.
Kerianne Vianden, a resident student at Montclair State, said, “It just kind of stinks because the weather is bad. I’m probably not going to go to the football game because it’s cold.” She was not the only one opting out of the sporting event.
Homecoming Royalty was crowned after Montclair State’s victory on the football field.
Photo Credit: Alex Gamboa
Despite the chilly 50 degree weather, there was a petting zoo organized outside with fluffy chickens, black sheep, goats, a calf and an alpaca, all of which attendees could pet or hold. Inside the gymnasium, there were booths for food such as sausage and peppers and burgers, raffle tickets, tables for the various organizations at Montclair State and games and activities for the children. Most of those included booths for arcade games such as tic tac toe, face painting, balloon artists and much more.
Ultimately, considering the circumstances, the event was definitely a success. Students and staff certainly put in a great deal of time and effort and it truly showed. At the end of the day, the Red Hawks came out with a victory on the football field as well as a day of fun despite of the weather.
