To kick off this year’s Springfest celebration, Colgate University’s Frank Dining Hall hosted a Spring Feast on Wednesday, April 24. Dining hall staff served breakfast for dinner and organized a paint-and-sip mocktail party.
Colgate Dining Services Marketing Manager Tiffany Simmons helped bring Spring Feast to fruition. Simmons explained the motivation behind the three ideas.
“We came up with Spring Feast as an homage to the weekend,” Simmons said. “We know our students love breakfast, so we wanted to offer some of their favorites during this event.”
Simmons developed the idea after watching a TikTok video about a bar in Washington, D.C., called Binge Bar, which only serves non-alcoholic drinks.
“I thought it was such a unique idea that would give students who are living a sober life the opportunity to enjoy some drinks that their friends may be having over the weekend,” Simmons said. “We’ll also be using the mocktails in our paint-and-sip activity that is happening in the ‘Green Room,’ as we call it — located off to the side of La Mesa. Students will be given mini canvases where they can paint whatever they would like and take back to their dorms with them.”
First-year Ashley Shanahan attended the Spring Feast and commented on the festive mocktails.
“Taste-testing the mocktails was definitely a highlight,” Shanahan said. “[The] ‘Clean Shirley Temple’ was my favorite.”
Simmons enjoys giving students a special experience in the dining halls, which has inspired her to plan a variety of unique events throughout the year.
“I love putting together events like this that excite students to come to Frank Dining Hall,” Simmons said. “My favorite part of any event is just after setting up and the first few students come through the doors and see the setup. I love hearing the students say, ‘Oh my gosh, look what they’re doing today,’ or, ‘Oh, this is so cool.’ Hearing that makes all the hard work that goes into events more than worth it.”
First-year Lily Gamburg appreciated the spring-time spirit of the Spring Feast.
“The event was really fun, and everyone looked so happy. It was a perfect welcome into the spring season,” Gamburg said.
Simmons spotlighted the Frank Dining Hall staff and their hard-work in hosting events like Spring Feast.
“Frank Executive Chef Bryan Guglielmo and Executive Sous Chef Josh Windhausen have been my two go-to guys all semester. [For] any idea that I have I meet with them, and they try their best to make it happen no matter how ridiculous it may seem at first,” Simmons said. “They’re both the true rockstars of the semester, as well as our staff. Both our day and night staff work extremely hard each and every day to bring the students the best program we can. I love seeing the staff get involved in events, as well; some of them even use their lunch breaks to join the students in whatever fun we may have that day.”
First-year Eve Huntington also gave a shoutout to the Frank Dining Hall staff for organizing a special dinner.
“I think it’s so cool that the Frank staff organizes these events to bring students together,” Huntington said.
During a particularly busy time of the semester with final exams drawing closer, events like Frank’s Spring Feast provide students with an opportunity to engage in something new and exciting during a seemingly routine trip to the dining hall.
