The 12th annual RecFest event took place on Sunday, giving students the opportunity to experience attractions, vendors and musical entertainment.
Students have numerous activities to choose from while attending RecFest and some have been more popular among the crowd than others.
“I like to see all the attractions and see the club teams and other activities that NC State has to offer,” said Rachel Queen, a fourth-year studying accounting. “The free food is always a plus.”
Ben Strunk, co-director of the event, elaborated on the funding of the popular Wolfpack Welcome Week event.
“Over the years we have had a lot more local sponsors,” Strunk said. “A lot of them have been doing it for a number of years and we have that relationship built and a number of vendors have not been with us in the past, we have had a ton of success bringing in new ones.”
The air of Miller Fields was filled with the aromas of different types of food as there were numerous vendors on site. The outside ring of RecFest was lined with restaurants including Marco’s Pizza, Moe’s and the event’s newest vendor, Smoothie King.
While Strunk remarked that University Recreation pays for the RecFest event, he also said vendors pay for their spot to show off their food to the thousands of people that show up each year on Miller Fields.
Vendors are not the only draw for students to make a yearly appearance. Attractions and inflatables have been a growing aspect of RecFest in previous years, and a new wrestling attraction was added this year on top of the already popular rock wall and the mechanical bull.
“I love coming to RecFest and being able to play on all the attractions,” said Meghan Glova, a fourth-year studying communication. “It gives people the chance to let out their inner child even though we are in college now.”
Another popular aspect of RecFest was the musical entertainment. Strunk said in years past, RecFest has hosted a variety of bands and DJs. This year, WolfBytes Radio, a division of the Office of Information Technology, was the musical entertainment for the event and included live DJs.
“The funding for WolfBytes Radio is through the Department of Media and Student Services,” said Logan Sims, a WolfBytes DJ and a Broadcast and Emerging Media Technician. “Through our partnership with University Recreation, we decided to broadcast live at RecFest this year. Although we’re not generating direct revenue from this event, we at WolfBytes Radio are looking at this as a wonderful opportunity to get our name and face out to the public, especially incoming freshmen.”
Strunk expressed through all of the success, University Recreation is always searching to “provide a premiere experience for the students.”
“It has grown from a small URec event into segments of campus,” Strunk said. “Even though URec does not make a large profit from RecFest, the event remains popular for NC State students and is looking to grow even larger in years to come.”
Jessica Hamm, a second-year studying materials science and engineering, pulls back a bow during a carnival-style game at this year's RecFest on Sunday on Miller Fields. The object of the game was to hit the targets floating in the air.
