Kettle corn, hot dogs on the grill, coffee and the sounds of chatter as people threw Frisbees could be smelled and heard as students walked through The Quad on Thursday, April 27.

Filled Up Sent Equipped (FUSE), along with the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO), set up Quad Fest and were the ones running everything from the grill to the cotton candy station.

“FUSE loves our campus,” Andrew Thiel, president of FUSE, said.

Thiel said that this event had been years in the making. This was the first year FUSE got to host the event.Thiel said that planning started in January with the new leadership team.

Kurt Eisele, the treasurer of FUSE, also had a hand in putting the event together. Eisele said that Quad Fest was Thiel’s dream and that Thiel came to Eisele to help put it together. Eisele is also a member of the Activities Program Board (APB) and said he used his event planning skills from there to help put together Quad Fest.

“At least 1,000 students came through here,” Eisele said around 2:30 p.m.

The event began at noon and went until 5 p.m. Eisele said they had no idea what to plan for, so they ordered 1,000 hot dogs and 800 cans of soda. Students ended up having to run and get more hot dogs.

Eisele said that he wanted to see the event growby making changes such as adding more food options, adding more stands and even looking at adding a slip and slide.

Matt Ramsey, a minister for CCO, said that CCO’s role was mostly advising. He explained that the event was student run, and that CCO members were there to provide students with an extra hand as well as to help the students think through how they would go about planning the event.

Ramsey also wanted students to take the time to relax at Quad Fest. He hoped that it could be a time that students slow down and enjoy the company of one another, even if it was for a short time.

“We hope it’s a moment of encouragement,” Ramsey said.

Sean Farrell, Tori Karnas and Marissa Challenger were all studying for exams and finals when they decided to venture outside to take a break.

“We love it,” Farrell said when asked how he enjoyed Quad Fest.

They all agreed that Quad Fest was convenient, being beside the library, but they could not hear the noise inside the library. The also agreed that it helped them all “de-stress” during one of the busiest times for college students.

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