The Event of the year

By: Tom Ehrig

This weekend marked a popular event that is put on at Frostburg State University, the Appalacian Festival. The festival went from September 16th to September 18th and consisted of not just students, but local family members as well. The event on September 18th had a lot of children that came from the nearby high schools and elementary schools. The kids were very excited to be there, their faces just lit up as they walked around the upper quad. There was no shortage of activities to fill up someone's time. A kid could walk around all day and never get bored; the festival seemed to be mostly aimed at the countless children that showed up. There were tents everywhere that included making toys and arts and crafts which was put on by the national fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.
There were a lot of activities for children to do, but there were just as many for students and adults to do as well. The thing that I found so interesting and fun was the music selection. Music was playing on Saturday all day which included different bands from around the area. The festival had acts ranging from bag pipe players to folk musicians to scottish bands, they had it all. The music was so loud I could hear it all the way from my house on Spring Street which is a ways away from the upper quad. The band Mountain Therapy played at 1:20 saturday afternoon followed by the Garrett Highlands Pipe and drums at 2. Mountain Therapy is a contemporary band from Ohio while the Garrett Highlands is a scottish heritage band. Even though these are two way different styles of music, they worked very well going after eachother. A senior at Frostburg State University Michael Zapalowicz confronted me while I was watching the music. I asked how he liked the festival and the different music selections, he said, "I absolutely love being here, it's so nice out and the music is just mesmerizing." Mike was not the only person who was having a great time at the festival, it seemed as if everyone was having a blast.
The Appalacian Festival is a yearly event put on by Frostburg State University. Judging by the outcome and amount of excited people, it might be worthwhile to hold the event every semester which might make the community happier and become closer as a whole. This is the first time I have been to the festival in my 4 years as a student at Frostburg and I cant believe what I have missed out on throughout the years. The festival was very well organized and the people working there were very friendly and helpful. If you did not get to go to the festival this year, I would highly recommend going next year because it is quite a spectacle.