Last weekend a tradition of uniting family and alumni on campus occurred during Family Weekend and Homecoming Weekend as part of Brandeis' second annual Fall Fest. Mira Abramsohn '05, the volunteer coordinator for Fall Fest, described what this weekend meant to her.

"Fall Fest is about bringing people together. I know I do not talk to my mom as much as I would like to, so this weekend was a great time for us to catch up. It is also great to see so many alumni returning to campus since their involvement is crucial to Brandeis' continuance," she said.

Fall Fest kicked off last Friday with open classes, campus tours and the highlight of the day, the Annual Fall Fest Variety Show at Sherman Function Hall.

Performers during the weekend included Voices of Soul, InSync, the Ballroom Dance Team, Up the Octave, Voices of Soul, False Advertising, Lion Dance Troupe, VoiceMale, Adagio Dance Club and Company B to conclude the show.

Special Programs Coordinator Deena Ecker '04, who was also the head coordinator for the show said, "I think the Variety Show was so much fun, the audience was really into it, the group performances were great. It was it was a great success!"

"The show was very enjoyable and original," Anthoulla Eleftheriou, mother of Evdoki Eleftheriou '07 said. "The students looked professional and I've never seen so many a capella groups perform, but they were truly amazing," she said.

Steve Kahan, father of Sarah Kahan '07, said, "I just got here tonight (Friday) at 7:45 p.m., just in time for my daughter's performance in InSync. Of course I enjoyed my daughter's act, but I have to admit that the ballroom dancing team was amazing as well."

After the Variety Show, Friday night concluded with Stein Night, an opportunity for alumni, current students, and family to enjoy the newly renovated Stein. The campus band and WBRS provided entertainment for the event.

After a week of poor weather, the sun began to make its appearance just in time for the Campus Carnival out on the Great South Lawn on Saturday. Various student organizations had booths to entertain visitors with activities such as cookie decorating with the Waltham Group and hitting surprise-filled piSatas with Student Events.

WBRS played music and handed out free frisbees. The Brandeis Cheerleading Squad could be seen doing cheers while Ollie the Owl jollily walked around greeting parents, children and alumni. Also provided was food, including popcorn, cotton candy, hamburgers, cookies, oriental bread, and ice cream cones.

Director of Student Activities Kristine Asselin said, "the one really different thing we decided to do this year was the Beatle Juice concert we decided that parents, alumni, and students would really enjoy a really big entertainer. We thought having a focal point of the weekend might be nice."

Beatle Juice, a Boston-based Beatles tribute band featuring Brad Delp, lead singer of the band Boston. According to Asselin, approximately 450 people showed up, and although not at the brink of capacity, the room was definitely full.

"Beatle Juice was awesome, the band was really enthusiastic and a great group of performers. It seemed like the crowd was really into it ... especially the older members of the audience," Valerie Cacace '04 said.

"The show was great," Asselin said. "There were people dancing in the aisle and really having a good time."

The final day of Fall Fest began with a Sunday Brunch in Usdan.

Though many families and alumni left after the brunch, others stayed to attend the music department concert in the atrium of the Shapiro Campus Center.

There were performances by University Chorus, Chamber Choir, Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Ensemble.

Asselin said that approximately 500 families registered this year and there were many families that didn't register. She estimated that there were about 1500 to 2000 people on campus as a part of the Fall Fest weekend.

"I've talked to a number of parents and I've had absolutely no complaints whatsoever, people have just been really happy and appreciative," Asselin said. "Last year the weather was so dismal, that the turnout wasn't that great, but we've been really luck this year, the weather is beautiful and the campus looks great. It's been wonderful," she added.

Abramsohn said, "I enjoyed seeing so many people connect, or reconnect. I watched two brothers playing Frisbee on the great lawn and a mother wipe some lipstick off her daughter's cheek, and it made me appreciate Brandeis' sense of community, and I was glad that we were able to extend our arms and sweep more people into it."

During the carnival, the Shapiro Campus Center was buzzing with people attending Faculty Presentation Sessions, buying Brandeis paraphernalia from the Bookstore and chatting with family and friends, while sipping on some coffee at Java City.

This weekend took months of planning "a fabulous Core Committee," according to Asselin. The group included Abramsohn, Cacace, Ecker, Yi-ting Hsieh '04, Yusyin Hsin '05, Union Vice President Ken Gantz '04, Lauren Gottschalk '04, Dahlia Metchis '04, Samantha Papurt '05 and Julie Sarke '04.

"I love working with other people as a team," Cacace said. "The Fall Fest Core Committee this year is one of the greatest groups of people I have ever had the pleasure of working with."

"I loved being on core," Abramsohn added. "We had ten very efficient, dedicated volunteers who love this school to pieces and were willing to plan a weekend to exhibit this devotion to our extended Brandeis family."

Asselin said, "this year, the core committee really stepped up and volunteered, always saying, we'll be involved, we'll help."

Approximately 85 student volunteers helped to make Fall Fest successful.

Abramsohn, who coordinated the volunteer committees said, "I had an awesome group of students, most of whom volunteered even though their parents came. They were completely willing and eager to help out with anything I needed, volunteering for shifts when more arose just two days prior to the weekend and staying up past midnight to help clean up."

"Fall Fest has always been a nice volunteer experience. It's a good training ground for student leaders. I have seen many Fall Fest volunteers go on to apply for student events and orientation," Asselin said.

"Fall Fest was definitely successful this year. On the whole, families and alumni seemed to genuinely be enjoying themselves, and that is what I call a success," Cacace said.