Boo Central is an annual haunt-jaunt at CWU

Every Halloween, CWU’s Student Leadership, Involvement, & Community Engagement (SLICE) hosts “Boo Central,” a free event open to everyone of all ages! This is an event where people can show off their Halloween costumes, play games, trick or treat and visit all the booths they have set up! 

“It was very lively,” said Jade Cupples, senior graphic design major. “ I love how many people were there, how many people dressed up. And I loved how many clubs and other groups were tabling.” According to Cupples, the SURC Ballroom was filled with joy, laughter and spooky costumes. 

Many of Central’s clubs and organizations had a table at this event, some tables were giving out candy while some tables had games and activities, “I didn’t realize that was what it was,” said Cupples. “A bunch of tabled events. I loved how it was all set up. I learned a lot more about clubs and the overall school.” 

This event is meant for both students and the community to show out in their best costumes, check out some of the opportunities that Central has to offer and spend time with their friends. “I went with friends, and it was fun to walk around and go to the tables and see what different clubs have to offer and what goodies I could grab,” said Cupples. “It was fun to run into some familiar faces and see some really cool costumes.” Boo Central is an event you can go hang out with your friends, meet new people and explore what the school has to offer.

Boo Central has been an annual event for quite some time now. Many kids look forward to this event each year. “I used to think it was so much fun,” Taylor Perez, 2024 alumnus and community member, said. “I loved being able to go to Central because my parents worked there and it felt so cool being on a college campus and dressing up and going to all the tables. When I was younger, I remember there were a lot of people dressed up. All the people running it would dress up and it was a good experience.”

There is so much hard work and preparation that goes into an event like Boo Central. Rallying up the clubs, organizations and departments to put on a great event that is enjoyed by many can be a strenuous process. “As an adult, being on the other end of it and seeing all the work that the students and the staff go through to put this event together, I think it’s very heartwarming because I know what it felt like as a kid to go to the event,” Perez said.

Boo Central is an event that has been around for years and has made its mark on the town’s kids, students and the community surrounding Ellensburg. 

CWU Celebrates Día de los Muertos

From community ofrenda, or traditional altar offerings, to performances and mariachi music, a lively crowd filled the SURC Ballroom with dances and cheers on Saturday night for the Diversity and Equity Center’s Día de Los Muertos event for students and families. 

Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a two-day holiday that reunites the living and dead. The CWU event offered booths from the MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chinana/o de Aztlán) and LSO (LatinX Student Organization), including sugar skull decorating, photo booths and face painting. Each table was decorated with orange flowers, lights and Mexican-manufactured candy. 

One of the lead planners of the event, Sam Perez Loreto, a senior history social studies teaching education major, said she wanted the event to be “More inclusive, more culturally relevant,” Perez said, while also calling it a “Pretty big celebration.” As a result, there were long lines for most booths along with a crowded floor of people dancing in circles. 

Performances by women in white or colorful dresses were followed by the band, Los Faraones Del Norte (USA), as they made their way to the stage. Lights flashed purple and orange as people approached the middle of the ballroom to dance to the music. 

“As a student of Latine background, I love that fact that MEChA, and LSO puts on these events for the community to enjoy,” Kiko Gomez, a sophmore music major, and president of Mariachi de CWU, who performed at the event, said. “Since CWU is working hard on trying to become an HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution), they should consider paying more attention to the [organizations] and helping them put on these events for everyone to enjoy.” 

Students Conduct Annual Halloween Concert

Random objects thrown around, the cackling of witches, Gondor calling for aid and Rohan answering, an inflatable snake “killed” live on stage, the cast to Alice in Wonderland dancing to Swan Lake and a rousing rendition of the “Ghostbusters” theme. 

These are just a few of the antics that broke out the evening of last Wednesday, Oct. 30, at CWU Orchestra’s annual Halloween concert in the Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building Concert Hall. 

The concert itself was not conducted as usual. Most of the concerts are conducted by the Director of Orchestras, Nicolas Caoile. This performance, on the other hand, was conducted by two graduate students, Allion Salvador and Tomick Necessary. 

The two conducted an orchestra of students dressed as a wide range of characters, from the cast of “Avatar the Last Airbender,” to Snow White and her Seven Dwarves, a large variety of insect species and characters from Alice in Wonderland. They played familiar film themes and famous ballets, among other pieces. 

“I’m really proud of the orchestra,” Salvador said. “They sounded excellent and put it together in very little time.” Tomick agreed with these sentiments. “It went great,” Necessary said. “I thought the orchestra played really well.” 

It was a packed house with people laughing at the shenanigans on and off stage and ending the night with a shout-along to the “Ghostbusters” theme. “This was one of my favorite concerts that I’ve been to,” said student Alana Nelson, after the show.