Haunted Harvest 2012 Summary
History of Haunted Harvest: The event began in 2008 as “Friday the 31st”. The goal was to create a Union-wide event centered on the “Big Friday” closest to Halloween that provided alcohol-free entertainment. In 2009, the event was renamed “Haunted Harvest” in order to create a brand that could be reused annually similar to “Spring Fling.” Each year marquee events such as paint-a-pot, bowling, and showing “Rocky Horror Picture Show” have been kept while adding new and varied events such as Costume Karaoke Dance Party, Zombie Bowling, and Haunted Carnival.
Planning Process: This event is planned by a committee consisting of staff members from the Student Activities Center, the Art Center, Crenshaw Lanes, the Student Life Center, Flying High Circus, Union Marketing, and Union Administration. Student leaders on the SOAR Board and Union Productions also serve on the committee. Invitations have also been extended to Greek Life, Residence Life, Aramark, and Campus Recreation in an attempt to bring other campus partners in on the planning.
2012 Event Schedule:
Dead Man’s Dash- W. Call Street and Stadium Drive; 6-7pm Nightmare on Learning Way- Askew Student Life Center; 6pm-2am Costume Karaoke Dance Party- Club Downunder; 9pm Haunted Carnival- Union Green; 8pm-12am o Black Lite Photo Booth- Union Courtyard 8pm-12am o Face Painting- Union Courtyard 8pm-12am o Psychics- 8pm-12am o Carnival Rides- 8pm-12am o Balloon Art- 8pm-12am o Caramel Apple Making- 8pm-gone o Dogs A Plenty (hot dogs)- 8pm-gone Paint-A-Pot- Union Courtyard; 8pm, 9:30pm, and 11pm Seminole Haunting- Union Green; 8-10pm Circus Halloween Extravaganza- FSU Circus Tent; 8pm Blacklight Sidewalk Chalk- Union Green; 9pm-Gone Zombie Bowling- Crenshaw Lanes; 9pm-12am Breakfast For A Buck- Food Court; 11pm-2am Movie: Rocky Horror Picture Show- Student Life Cinema; 11:59pm
Event Attendance: Event Rocky Horror Picture Show Friday Movie Horror Gaming Showing Paint-a-Pot Blacklight Sidewalk Chalk Costume Karaoke Dance Party Breakfast for a Buck Zombie Bowling & Billiards Carnival Rides Psychic Black Light Photo Booth Airbrush Face painting Balloon Artist Seminole Haunting RSO’s Registered RSO’s that showed up Total Attendance Surveys Completed
Attendance 435 486 52 501 35 210 1025 216 1,057 200 180 384 250
8 6 5,031 200
Overall, the event was successful and continues to improve each year. The addition of the DJ, the black light photo booth and the carnival rides this year were a success with long lines and a steady stream of attendance. Recommended improvements for next year include marketing earlier, including getting RSOs involved in events such as Seminole Haunting, amount of specialty food items like caramel apples, and adding more carnival rides or a haunted house. A total of 200 students completed the survey for Haunted Harvest 2012. A majority of the survey respondents were freshmen (36%), female (69%), resided both on-campus (48%) and offcampus (47%), and Caucasian (63%). The top three ways students heard of Haunted Harvest were: word of mouth/Friend (28%), Flyer (17%), and posters (25%). The majority of the respondents had never attended Haunted Harvest prior to Fall 2012 (73%).Most respondents were affiliated with FSU as a student (92%) with other attendees coming as part of the ACUI Region 6 Conference (6%). On the surveys, the students were asked to write down their favorites events from Haunted Harvest. The top three events students enjoyed were: Rides, Paint-A-Pot, and the novelties, such as face painting or the black light photo booth. In addition, the students enjoyed the free caramel apples, hot dogs, and the other food items available. Some events recommended by students for next year’s Haunted Harvest included more rides and a haunted house.