With the warm weather quickly going out the door, my favorite of the four seasons has arrived: fall. The school year is just beginning to truly kick off. Everyone’s back on campus, studying hard and settled into their routines. With the new season comes vast opportunity to have fun and make memories. If you’d like to find out just some of what GVSU, Allendale, and Grand Rapids has in store for the fall season, read on.

Tailgating

Since I came to college, tailgating has become my absolute favorite fall activity. There’s just something about getting together with friends before football games, blasting music and grilling food that gets the blood flowing to keep you warm. Take full advantage of every time GVSU has a home football game. Early in the morning, many people wake up for pre-tailgate festivities. As 4 p.m. rolls around, the parking lot outside the Fieldhouse fills up with eager football fans and tailgaters, dressed in black, blue, and white, or in whatever color matches the theme of the game. The homecoming game is in mid-October, which leads me to the next amazing thing about fall season in college.

Homecoming

Fall season means homecoming week. This is a week chock-full of spirit activities. The week starts off with some competitive athletic events that anyone can register for. Later in the week, there are educational events, charitable events, and other competitions. Thursday night is the night of the Lip Sync competition. Teams compete against each other by performing a choreographed dance routine on stage in front of thousands. And then, of course, there’s the game on Saturday. Alumni from years past come back to their Alma Mater to tailgate and to watch some Laker football.

ArtPrize

In the month of September, the grand international competition known as ArtPrize begins in Grand Rapids. ArtPrize is an almost three week-long event that blends competition with public viewing. All kinds of interesting art can be seen all over the ArtPrize district. From paintings and murals to sculptures to people hula-hooping on street corners, works of art are around every corner. It’s the perfect place to go with friends, or maybe even take a date downtown to view the art. It ends this weekend, so make the trip downtown while you still can.

Apple Orchards

A staple of the fall season, apple orchards are delightful places to visit. Crunchy leaves underfoot, sweet apple cider, powdered donuts – orchards are the place to be. One of my personal favorite snacks is donuts with hot cider. I haven’t been to many apple orchards yet, but I have been to Robinette’s near Grand Rapids. They have a little shop as well as a bakery where you can buy caramel apples, donuts, cider, other snacks, etc. Right across the street from the shops, there is a large corn maze that is super easy to get lost in. To top it off, they have a giant apple you can take pictures in front of. Robinette’s is definitely the go-to for some fall fun.

With so much going on, from school activities to ArtPrize to apple orchards, it won’t be hard to find something to do on the weekends. Just make sure to get your work done during the week first.