Mackenzie Sheldon | Opinion editor
CAB is hosting its annual Fall Fest this week! The 2024 theme is cartoons with each event representing a certain aspect of nostalgic TV shows. September 23rd started us off with Mystery Machine Monday and CAB brings something new to the table with a Slimtastic Fun Run Sunday. However, CAB is known to end its Fall and Spring Fests with a performance from an artist. Some students have expressed their feelings and opinions about the change this year.
I had the honor of interviewing two cabbies, Taylor Thompson and Sadie Blackwell, to break down the reasons.
| “The fall fest concert is usually in collaboration with the town of Willimantic at Shaboo stage. The town did decide not to do anything this year” Taylor said.
Fall Fest of 2022 ended with artist Yung Gravy performing live at the Shaboo Stage in Willimantic. Yung Gravy was fairly popular and has since released another album with increased popularity.
As we continued the interview, I asked if CAB had any plans for a Spring Concert.
| “Because we are not having a fall concert this year there will be some more money that can be used towards a bigger spring concert artist.”
| “If you ask people what last year's fall concert was, not a lot of people do remember”
Wouldn't you want CAB to bring a huge artist to Eastern once a year, rather than two smaller artists twice a year? I remember students being upset that Yung Gravy was the artist selected to perform at the end of Fall Fest, but a lot of tickets were still bought and a crowd of people made their way down to Shaboo Stage.
Thompson also makes a very good point here:
| “People are going to be upset no matter what, no matter what artist we had for the Fall”
I also talked with Sadie Blackwell, another cabbie here at Eastern who has heard the opinions of the students as well.
| ”We not only have to find an artist in our budget, we have to find an artist we think the students here would like”
Cabbies do a lot for the students. Event planning, budgeting, marketing, public relations, and reaching out to companies all go into ensuring the students will have entertaining campus activities to attend. CAB works hard to make it happen.
| "CAB is very excited to be hosting its first ever 5K slime run this year"
CAB hosting something new for Fall Fest is a fantastic idea. It brings a new event to campus with the same fun energy an outdoor concert would bring. The fact that not a lot of students remember the 2023 Fall Concert, it goes to show more funding for a bigger artist in Spring might be better overall.
Instead of being upset that there's no concert, let's take a step back to realize how much work goes into getting an artist here, and how much work CAB does in general for Fall Fest. Adding a new spin to the end of Fall Fest might be a start to more community events like this, and it might be a hint that something big is coming for Spring Fest!
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