Winterfest:: Inside or Outside?
EVHS Winterfest at the newly renovated Cougar Hall draws crowds from around campus for a fun celebration of the holiday season (Credit: EVHS Yearbook, Neil Pham)
With the finished construction of the newly renovated Cougar Hall finishing in Early December, earlier than anticipated, EVHS Winterfest of 2022 was thus the first Winterfest in 2 years to be hosted inside. The change was a hotly contested question between participating students, club vendors, and teacher volunteers. While many enjoyed the more stable setting, some commented the Winterfest “feeling” seemed to lose something from going inside.
“I think it was more crowded. With the table set-up in the Cougar Hall, it was very hard to manipulate and kind of go through without bumping into each other.” said Mr. Pacheco, a teacher attending the event. “I know it was due to a fear of rain, but it probably would’ve been just as well if they would have set up under the hangings of the building.”
Club vendors were especially disappointed by loss of incentive to sell warmer foods due to the air conditioning within Cougar Hall.
“I think overarching, the inside of Winterfest was really not that fun. Like last year, having Winterfest outside, I mean, I know it was super cold and everybody there was freezing, but honestly, I felt like that was part of the fun.” said Sumanth, EVSD representative, “Like being able to have warm food in the cold weather, just running around, it felt like the energy was really there, Like inside, it just felt more like boring and normal, where you just go and you just kind of visit someplace and be like, ‘Okay, it's cool,’ and then you just go out. Like, I felt like outside had that energy rush. It just felt so much more natural.”
This lack of energy was reported by clubs to have reduced some of the interactions between clubs despite the overwhelming increase in successful sales.
Performances come to EVHS Winterfest, a new feature to stay in Winterfest?: (Credit: EVHS Yearbook, Neil Pham)
Another major change with the Winterfest in Cougar Hall was the ability of clubs and students to present their uniqueness on the stage in front of crowds of hundreds of students. Clubs such as K-Club showcased their K-pop beats to the delight of students from around campus. However, the crowded nature of the interior of Cougar Hall made such performances difficult to witness for many students.
“I think I looked forward to KPop the most, and I think my favorite was also KPop because that was the only one I could see,” said Yining, a Winterfest participant.
Particularly towards the middle run of performances, crowds were often so congested that it made movement between sections of Cougar Hall nearly impossible. This congestion seems to have taken away from many participants' experiences of Winterfest and came up as the most requested change towards Winterfest for our interviewees.
“I think with that, if you had moved the tables out, you could’ve seen the performance, because people were bunching up. [It was hard] to kind of go through the tables, because the performances led to where people could not move.” said Mr. Pacheco.
Crowds and Congestion at Winterfest (EVHS Newspaper:: Jason)
Nonetheless, similar to last year, from the Card Reading to Guitar to Yearbook’s Photobooths, the club booths remained incredibly popular. Many clubs, such as EVSD, were reported to have sold out of all their goods and raised much in funding for future club operations. While the congestion was a problem for movement, it may have increased sales by keeping cougars near booths for longer and thus giving EVHS clubs more time to advertise.
Alumni coming back to EVHS to celebrate Winterfest: (Credit: EVHS Newspaper, Neil Pham)
Food was as popular as always it seems.
“I had Insomnia Cookies, which were like beautiful. I'm always a sucker for Insomnia Cookies. I mean, other than that, everything else was pretty standard. There was Costco pizza which was nice, always fun.” said Sumanth.
With a surprise visit from Santa Claus towards the end of Winterfest, 2022 Winterfest wraps up as quite a successful try at Winterfest indoors. Despite its congestive problems which many participants would like to see addressed for next year, an in person Winterfest offered aspects of Winterfest such as decor and performances which spiced up the holiday atmosphere. EVHS looks forward to documenting the continuing success of Winterfest for years to come as it evolves to meet changing times.
Jolly Christmas Surprise at 2022 Winterfest (Credit Newspaper: Jason)
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