Food, people, talking, community! This semester, Amherst College hosted a Winter Fest for the Amherst College and town community. They had ice sculptures of a mammoth, snowflake, penguin, and grizzly bear near the entrance of the event. The environment was beautifully decorated with purple-blue lights that illuminated the entire room. For our live music performances, we had a Pentatonic group of all-Filipino group traveling from California to perform here. They provided a wide range of music genres ending with a popular BTS song choice.
The gym was full of multiple food stations for people to try out or enjoy conversation with friends.
My first station was the dumpling stand with a variety of options that accommodated vegetarian and vegan diets. This stand was one that I revisited four times. I continued on to the next station for a couple of sweet items. I tried maple waffles with powdered sugar. One word, delicious! I have a big sweet tooth so the waffle definitely filled that craving as well as the donut station. It was a make-your-own donut station unlike any other you have ever experienced. You start with the flavor of your donut, then you continue to add a layer of chocolate or vanilla icing, and lastly, your add-ons (Oreos, M&M’s, marshmallows, etc.) I will admit there are long lines you have to wait for every station so I saved the best for last. The Poutine station was my favorite! A Poutine is a plate of french fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy, caramelized onions, little fried chicken bites, and ranch to your liking. I did a little research about the dish and it became popular in the 1950s in Quebec (fun little fact).
Amherst students are not the only ones attending these events, it includes people from the Amherst town community whether they bring their kids for a fun time on the bounce house. Amherst College always goes all out for its festive events and Winter Fest is definitely one of them. It is a time to gather with each other after a long winter break and the beginning of the semester. I would definitely recommend trying out the food too!