By Zach Durham
Beach Pride Events hosted Pumpkin Palooza on the north lawn of the University Student Union on Monday to get students in the Halloween spirit.
Associated Student Inc. regularly hosts events like Pumpkin Palooza to encourage students to socialize with each other.
“It’s the day before Halloween, so we’re trying to give students an opportunity to celebrate in a fun way,” said senior Lizzy Schwegler, Beach Pride Events assistant and coordinator of Pumpkin Palooza.
10/30/2023-Long Beach, Cal: Beach Pride Events set up tables for pumpkin painting lessons as a part of Pumpkin Palooza on the North Lawn of the University Student Union. Photo credit: Zach Durham
The event had snacks like popcorn and sweets along with crafting stations for students to tap into their creativity. Goodie bags were handed out that included pencils, keychains and more candy.
The crafts included Halloween terrariums, friendship bracelets, sun catchers and a pumpkin painting station. Several students spent their time at the painting tables, as it was the most popular attraction of the event.
There were two tables set up in the pumpkin painting station. One table was for students to display their creativity by freehand painting, while the other was a workshop for students to follow along with an instructor and paint a spooky Halloween-themed pumpkin.
Students followed instructions from Beach Pride event leaders to paint a spooky Halloween-themed pumpkin. Photo credit: Zach Durham
Some of the creatively decorated pumpkins included paintings of Spiderman, the Minions from Despicable Me and Long Beach State-themed colors.
Freshman Ky Anderson and senior Natalia Lopez did not know each other before the event. The two sat next to each other at the arts and crafts station as they worked on their Halloween terrariums and learned more about each other.
“I thought it would be a good way to decompress after midterms, and it’s free,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she is looking forward to attending future campus activities hosted by Beach Pride Events.
“I’ve been to other ASI events and always come home with fun arts and crafts,” Lopez said. “It’s fun to get together and meet new people.”
Students display their artistic creativity by putting their personality on a pumpkin at the "free-paint" table at Pumpkin Palooza. Photo credit: Zach Durham
Beach Pride Events works with ASI to coordinate entertaining events that are inclusive and educational.
“We host a lot of events for students in the USU and are always trying to pick different fun activities to get students together,” Schwegler said. “I think today we were successful in that.”
Future Beach Pride events include Adulting 101: Camping Basics on Thursday, Nov. 2 and Poet’s Lounge on Monday, Nov. 6.
Adulting 101 will have guest speakers discuss how to navigate a career after college, and Poet’s Lounge will allow students to express their creativity even further during an open mic in the USU auditorium.
