Halloweekend in O-boo-lin

There’s no better place to be in the fall than Oberlin. Our colors are red and yellow, after all, so when the trees of Tappan Square start changing, it just feels like they’re showing their school spirit. Oberlin more than gets the vibe of fall and of course, Halloween, with lots of various autumnal activities that jam packed my Hallo-weekend. Follow me through this haunted house of spooky events and attractions!

One of the things I love about OSCA is the events we have. We have parties, screenings, and game nights pretty often, definitely a lot more often than I experienced in ResEd, and with many more loyal attendees. OSCA has a tradition of trick or treating down the hallways, and each co-op has a different night. Keep was lucky enough to have ours on Halloween! Soon enough the dorm was jam packed with costume-goers and frightful cheer. The only problem was I could barely squeeze through into my room. Oh well, my friend and I decided to go out anyway.

There’s always events going on in the downtown area for each holiday season. One Oberlin tradition is a Halloween parade for kids and families, though there’s lots of fun stuff for students as well. There was a comedy night going on at The Feve, and a karaoke night at Black River Cafe that we ended up staying at. Both were open to all ages, though drinks were only for 21+, of course. These events aren’t just for holidays; they happen pretty often at different places downtown if the ‘Sco or Cat in the Cream aren’t quite what you’re looking for.

Speaking of the ‘Sco or Cat in the Cream: did they have Halloween events? Of course! The Cat held a cookie decorating night, and the ‘Sco had an arts and crafts night. There’s also the classic Get Wilder, held in, you guessed it, Wilder Hall, which is full of Halloween activities in every room of the building. My friends also participated in a campus costume contest with their handcrafted creations. It was super fun voting for a winner and getting to see what all of the students came up with. And how could I forget about one of the biggest O-boo-lin traditions; Organ Pump! Organ Pump is where students, or rather various creatures and characters, pack into Finney Chapel at midnight, and the organ students pump spooky songs through the air. Students are invited to jump up on the stage and feel the vibrations from the magnificent instrument. Definitely an Oberlin bucket-list item. 

There’s also a plethora of things to do on the outskirts of Oberlin and in the Cleveland area. Fairly close to Oberlin is a pumpkin patch, and some student organizations held events to travel there together. There’s also the farmer’s market at the public library and other mini markets in front of houses that I enjoy biking to and perusing the fresh produce. The Apollo held special screenings of Halloween and Nosferadiohead, and the Film Co-op always shows some spooky movies. Last year I saw Night of the Living Dead for the first time in the auditorium in the AJLC, and boy is that a memorable movie. In Cleveland there’s The Haunted House restaurant, a Halloween- and horror-themed eatery that my friends and I planned a trip to. We rented one of the electric cars from the EV Car Share program and drove up north. When we got there, though, they told us we needed a reservation! We had no idea and were a bit bummed out, but we went to a different restaurant and still had a great time. It was also a great opportunity to try out the electric cars, and now I know I can rent one whenever I need to take a quick trip to a store or am going on an outing into the city. They’re much cheaper and better for the environment than an Uber, especially if you’re with multiple people; plus there’s a lot more freedom!

This Halloweekend was one for the books! There’s so many other events that happened that I didn’t even get the chance to describe. I had so much fun and was happy to get out some stress after midterms and before the election. Now I can’t wait to see what OSCA and campus have in store for Christmas!