Spring Fling and Fall Fest are two of Drury University’s most anticipated campus events each year. These events bring students together through fun activities, food trucks, and engaging entertainment. But these events don’t become successful immediately. The Student Union Board (SUB) must put in months of careful preparation, collaboration, and commitment.

The planning for Fall Fest begins in July, while Spring Fling begins in November. Key SUB members, such as the president, the event committee (EC), and their advisor Corinna, work together to plan these events. The first stage focuses on creating a rough strategy, which is later refined based on logistics, funds, and feasibility.

Members of the event committee perform crucial tasks such as contacting vendors, coordinating with food trucks and inflatable rental companies, purchasing supplies, and prepping for the event. Delegating responsibility ensures that the planning process runs smoothly and allows the team to achieve their creative goals.

“We started planning Fall Fest back in July and Spring Fling back in November,” said Austin Ward. “I work with Corinna, our advisor; Rylie, our president and members of my Event Committee (EC) to sketch out a rough plan for what we want to do for each event week.”

When selecting activities for each event, four major elements must be considered: distinctiveness, engagement, budget, and feasibility. The goal is to create a vibrant and entertaining environment that appeals to students. Activities are often chosen based on themes.

For example, this year’s Spring Fling theme, “2000s/childhood,” inspired activities like a Barbie and the Diamond Castle showing and bounce castles. Other activities, such as the Farmers Market, were chosen based on seasonal appeal rather than thematic relevance.

“When deciding on activities, we take into account four main factors: uniqueness, engagement, budget, and do-ableness (if that is even a word),” Ward explained. “We want the students to be able to come to the events, stay at the events for a while, and then be able to go home with something.”

At their core, these activities aim to foster a sense of community and enjoyment. The SUB team seeks to provide students with experiences they will remember long after they leave Drury. Whether it’s seeing friends giggle on inflatables, eating fresh produce from the Farmers Market, or enjoying excellent food from local vendors, the impact of these events can be seen in the students’ grins and enthusiasm.

“Our whole purpose as an organization is to bring students incredibly fun events for them to engage on and off campus for free,” Ward said. “I hope students are able to make memories and feel like their university values creating enriching experiences for them.”

Even though planning a big event can be difficult, the satisfaction of seeing everything work well is worth it. The days running up to the events are filled with anxiety—will everything be prepared on time? Will students show up?

However, when hundreds of students assemble on Kellogg Lawn to enjoy themselves and participate in the festivities, all of the hard work becomes worthwhile. The satisfaction of pulling off an event with minimal complications demonstrates the SUB team’s dedication.

“Seeing everything come together and be pulled off with little error is the most rewarding thing,” Ward shared. “When you get to the day and there are 200 people on Kellogg laughing and having a great time, you feel very proud of yourself, your team, and your organization.”

These events have been a stable at Drury for many years, expanding with each new student generation. While the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges, resulting in reduced attendance and membership, the SUB team worked tirelessly to rebuild and revive student participation. This year, attendance was at a record high, demonstrating the organization’s resilience and adaptability.

“To see us go from low membership and attendance due to the pandemic to nearly 250 people showing up for Monday’s event and another 200 on Wednesday, it feels so nice that we were able to persevere as an organization and really see life come back to campus,” Ward reflected.

One benefit of having events at a university is the constant flow of new students. Even while certain elements are recurring, such as food trucks and merchandise giveaways, each new class attends the event for the first time. Additionally, the creative minds at SUB contribute new ideas each year, ensuring that the events stay fresh and appealing.

“Even if we did the same exact events each year, we would have 25% of the students experience it for the first time,” Ward pointed out. “Being a large, collaborative organization, we have no shortage of great, unique, and creative ideas.”

Every event provides important lessons for future planning. Some activities may require adjustments in execution, while others may be completely replaced if they prove too difficult to coordinate. While certain activities pushed the planning team’s limits, the overall success of Spring Fling 2025 bodes well for future festivities. To keep next year’s activities as entertaining, if not more so, the SUB team is already coming up with fresh ideas.

“Every event, from the planning and execution, I learn something for next year,” Ward admitted. “Some events gave me a lot of stress to plan or execute, so next year we might do the event differently or plan better if we want to do the event again.”

Spring Fling and Fall Fest are more than just campus traditions; they reflect the hard work and creativity of the students who organize them. Through careful planning, effort and dedication, the SUB team continues to create events that bring joy and community spirit to Drury. As students look ahead to the following year, one thing is certain: these activities will remain a part of campus life for years to come.

Images by Leila Ehrichs