Winter Fest 2021 happened this past Friday and Saturday on campus at the University of Hartford’s F-Lot and Konover Campus Center’s Great Room. Here is a rundown of the weekend.

Friday: 

I went to Winter Fest around 7:00 PM. It was snowing, and it felt like a chilly February night. First, I went to the campus activities table and was greeted by the Heat Team, who ran the event, checking in with my name and ID number. Friday night was full of waddling around the snow and checking out the fest, set up like the UHart version of the Boston Public Garden. It was nice to see my friends, greeting them with hellos and compliments. That’s how I usually greet any of my friends.

Saturday: 

This is really when the fest started to pick up in stamina. I arrived at the F-Lot about 8:00 PM and was greeted by the same uplifting faces from the UHart Heat Team. As soon as I got there, I went to get a taco from one of the food trucks, but there was a line for tacos, so I ended up going to the cupcake food truck instead. Shoutout to Edible Couture for their yummy strawberry shortcake cupcake! I also got some hot chocolate and some free candy provided to the students in the Konover Great Room. I loved being greeted with some familiar faces from the Dining Services crew. Shoutout to Dining Services for always making sure that our university events are filled with unique dishes and memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. 

A big shoutout goes to DJ Rell (Terrell Dewgarde), our university’s resident DJ. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Dewgarde plays everything from reggae to pop, representing the diversity that makes this University so amazing to be a part of. All of the university events, such as the BSU Fashion Show and CASA’s Bashment, helped me feel a part of the greater community. The music at the fest was humbling to me and made me want to be a bigger part of the college experience. 

Finally, I tried something I thought I would never do… I went ice skating. Eh. I waited until the end of the night after I was done dancing (socially distancing style) with other university students. We were the only ones dancing because it was cold and we all had loved the music so much. Nothing can divide that love that we have for music. Anyways, I got into the pair of skates, and I needed to hold on to the fake metal wall. As I slowly came off that wall, I just kept moving around until I observed a girl who accidentally popped her skates. I felt so bad for her, and I wanted to prevent this from happening to me because I already fell on the stairs the day prior. I was proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and facing my fear of getting on the ice. It was nice to move my legs and work my muscles. Saturday was the day I had become my idea of fearless. 

This wraps up my weekend of Winter Fest. I had a great time dancing and getting on the ice! Shoutout to the Heat Team for making this weekend happen! Always remember to try new things because life is too short. Enjoy being in college and being young!