OAKtoberFest Returns!

A seminal Menlo College event came roaring back this fall, following a pandemic-enforced hiatus: OAKtoberFest 2022!

The day-long celebration kicked off in the Haynes-Prim Gymnasium at 8:00 a.m. as fans packed the stands for Menlo College exhibition and competition wrestling. As a reminder of our school’s preeminence in the sport, alumni from our 2019 national championship women’s wrestling team joined this year’s men’s and women’s squads on the mats.

Later that morning, alumni and their families had brunch at the President’s House, and by midday, a record-setting 3,250 members of the extended Menlo family filled the quad to partake from a virtual sea of food trucks, as well as witness an array of student talent that included dances by the Pacific Islander Club, a performance by the Menlo Cheer and Dance Team, and crowd-rousing singing by Victoria Iafeta ’23. Competition play concluded with decisive conference wins for the women’s and men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams. No one kept score for intersquad and alumni-student games—except for our inner applause meters!

Alumni on campus for OAKtoberFest represented classes from 1960 to 2021. Frances Mann-Craik ’76 spoke for everyone at the end of the day when she said: “OAKtoberFest was magical!”

All photos by Crystal Cebedo ’20