By Igor Colonno
Rec Fest concluded CSULB’s Week of Welcome on a high note on Thursday Aug. 31, celebrating the start of the new semester. The event is held annually in order to commemorate health and wellbeing at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.
“The big part [of the event] is to bring people over to this side of campus and let them know this place [SRWC] exists,” SRWC Assistant Director Christopher Huebner said. “This is a social event to bring people here to socialize, and also to connect people with other entities involved in recreation and wellness.”
08/31/2023 – Long Beach, Calif: Cal State Long Beach students waiting in the check-in line to attend Rec Fest at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Photo credit: Igor Colonno
The event hosted numerous stands and activities for students to enjoy including henna tattoos, a photo booth, a balloon artist, chair massages, carnival-style games and food with burgers, churros, fresh fruit cups, cotton candy and popcorn.
The activities were also accompanied by a DJ that played music, from rap to reggaeton, which set the mood.
Shiloh Martinez, an 18-year-old film major, said that he saw posters around campus and it sparked his interest to attend the event. “I’m surprised at how much stuff is here, I didn’t expect it to be so elaborate,” Martinez said.
08/31/2023 – Long Beach, Calif: A Cal State Long Beach student gets a winning prize through the ticket raffle after playing carnival games at Rec Fest. Photo credit: Igor Colonno
Some people were caught by surprise and did not know that there was an event happening at the SRWC.
Grace Norton, a 20-year-old communication major, and Kaylee Kim, 19-year-old social work major, ran up unexpectedly at the event.
“We both just got out of the gym actually… So, we were like might as well [join in] we’re right here [already],” Kim said.
Kim also said they grabbed a fresh fruit cup to eat for a good post workout meal and went right for the burgers after they finished their cups.
08/31/2023 – Long Beach, Calif: Cal State Long Beach students Kaylee Kim (left) and Grace Norton (right) eat their fresh fruit cups while attending Rec Fest. Photo credit: Igor Colonno
A main attraction at the event was the carnival-style games which required tickets in exchange games for prizes. Prizes included a Vizio 40-inch TV, a pair of AirPods and JBL speakers.
Jonah Kluger, a 21-year-old english education major, said that he accumulated about 70 tickets in hopes of winning the 40-inch TV.
“I really want that TV, more than anything else in my entire life” Kluger said.
Besides the TV, Kluger also said that he loved the photo booth and the food options offered, saying the burger was his favorite.
“I was super happy about the photography area. I really wanted a nice form of picture taken and it’s perfect that we have that…This place is fantastic,” Kluger said.
The prize winners were announced around 10 minutes before the event ended. In the end, Kluger did not win the highly desired TV at the 2023 Rec Fest.
