Has your student mentioned anything about Oktoberfest?
If not, I thought you might like to know a little about one of Longwood’s favorite annual traditions. With a Farmaritaville theme this year, Oktoberfest is a week of events that kicks off this Sunday, Sept. 24, and concludes with a full day of events on Saturday.
Oktoberfest is a refresher for students at about the midpoint of the semester. Here’s what your students will be experiencing next week:
—Bonfire, the traditional kickoff to Oktoberfest, is on Sunday
—Spirit activities Monday through Friday, including Beach Day (imagine the campus full of students dressed as if they’re on a tropical vacation) and a Pink Out, where everyone wears pink to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month
—Service Walk on Thursday
—Color Wars on Friday (more about this class-based “paint war” further down)
—Saturday, the main event: student organization booths, the Oktoberfest procession followed by the Klown dance and spirit leader performance (in lederhosen, of course), student entertainment and an evening concert featuring four live bands
![](http://blogs.longwood.edu/parents/files/2023/09/Oktoberfest-Klown-1024x683.jpg)
Bring in the Klowns! It’s a time-honored part of Oktoberfest.
![](http://blogs.longwood.edu/parents/files/2023/09/Oktoberfest-student-org-2_2022-1024x683.jpg)
Color Wars, which is part of Oktoberfest, is a tradition on its own, pitting the green classes (students who entered in odd years/freshmen and juniors) against the red classes (students who entered in even years/sophomores and seniors). Most students wear a white T-shirt to this “battle,” which involves slinging as much paint as possible on your opponents, resulting in a unique memento of the event. A winner is usually declared, but it really doesn’t matter which team gets the most paint on the other because “red + green = blue!”
![](http://blogs.longwood.edu/parents/files/2023/09/Color-Wars_2022-1024x683.jpg)
Oktoberfest is organized by the Longwood Geist Chapter of Mortar Board, a national union of senior honor societies whose mission includes recognizing and encouraging leadership and establishing opportunities for a meaningful exchange of ideas.
—Sabrina Brown