By Mandee Mitchell
Attendees were left disappointed after going to TRUSU’s Winterfest held on November 23rd, 2022 in the TRU campus commons, attributing the lack of satisfaction to the seemingly false advertisements in the promotions for the event. Running from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Winterfest brought in students, staff, faculty, as well as members of the general community of Kamloops to enjoy the start of the holiday season.
The event, hosted by TRUSU’s entertainment committee, was meant to bring in the holiday season and was advertised on the TRUSU website as a “one-of-a-kind event (that) will feature Horse-Drawn rides around the Campus Commons, activity and art booths, hot cider station, cookies, hot chocolate, shoot a puck against the goalie from Kamloops Storm, large firepits, marshmallow roasting, food truck and more!”
Guests had comments on several aspects of the festivities, from the music to the activities.
Starting with EDM and Pop music, Winterfest’s DJ had a couple of students questioning the strange choice of music for a gathering that was supposed to reflect the holiday season and spirit.
Thankfully, the atmosphere perked up with the change to Christmas music mid-way through the festivities. “When they started the Christmas music, it started to feel like this was for the holidays,” says student Ashley John, who had attended the function from start to finish.
Music was not the only element that guests were confused about, with one commenting while roasting a marshmallow that they were upset that they were told everyone was only allowed one marshmallow, while others were seen going back multiple times for another.
Lack of supply was one of the biggest disappointments for people who visited the event, with the advertised hot chocolate and hot cider running out before most people had a chance to get to Winterfest. Zoya Vishwanath, who had gotten to the event at around 2:30pm, mentioned that she had never seen any drinks being given out throughout the time she was there, expressing her disappointment, she commented, “with it being so cold out there, you would think that student union would have had more of a supply of hot chocolate or cider like they said. It seemed like they were really unprepared.”
While the lack of beverages was a letdown for some, others found a positive in the choices of cookies ranging from gingerbread to sugar cookies. This was Sadie Richardson’s favourite part of the event, noting “I stand by the cookies. They were pretty good cookies.”
The “art booths” that were advertised were left as a question mark to attendees, with the only booth set up that required direct participation being a table giving out postage-paid postcards for people to fill in that TRUSU would mail out.
Perhaps one of the positives to those who chose to attend Winterfest was the opportunity to shoot a puck against a Kamloops Storm Hockey team goalie. Participants of the activity ranged from TRU professors to young children who tried their best to score a goal to win bragging rights and a ticket for the team’s TRU appreciation night that was held on Saturday, November 26th.
The last activity people could take part in was a spin-the-wheel where they could win chips, gum, a piece of coal, or an extra ticket for a raffle draw for a $250 tuition credit. While an interesting edition, several people commented how random it was to be included.
Having a food truck as part of the celebration was a welcomed addition. It allowed people to have food that they otherwise wouldn’t around campus and it made the event feel more organized and planned rather than something thrown together.
TRU technical theatre director, Leon Schwesinger believes there was a missed opportunity with Winterfest. “It would have been a good place for on-campus advertisements or activities from other TRU groups or clubs.” If given the opportunity, Schwesinger says that people would have taken the chance to promote their organizations.
Two raffle winners were revealed by the TRUSU entertainment committee representative as Winterfest was coming to an end. One of the draws was drawn from the tickets given at the spin-the-wheel activity, and the was other taken from the names of the groups who participated in decorating bulbs still currently on the TRU holiday tree.
Following a countdown for the ribbon-cutting and the lighting of the festive 60-foot tree, the celebration came to an end. During the holiday season, the gleaming tree, which is prominently displayed in TRU’s campus commons, can be seen from many locations across campus.
While a number of attendees were left unsatisfied, some hope that TRUSU can learn from the comments students are making. As 3rd-year communications student Jessica Lambie puts it, “I hope student union learns from their mistakes and can carry through with what they advertise next year.”
When asked if Lambie would attend next year’s festivities, she explained that she would “go check it out just to see if student union recognized the changes they needed to make to make the event worth it.”
At the time of publication of this article, no representatives from TRUSU had responded for comment.
Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/77TYrRxH1FQ
Leave a Reply