Come on, Mother Nature, isn’t it time for cooler temperatures to be upon us?  After all, the autumnal equinox was back on September 22!  As I’m writing this, the temperature outside is said to be 87…not very fall like, IMHO. 

What does Fall conjure up for you?  Any “hard-core” west sider, and many transplants, will tell you that this means that the Fall Festival is coming soon.  It’s always the first full week in October.  Beginning with a one day event in 1921, the Fall Festival (originally a Halloween event) has grown to 4 full blocks of food booths, rides, parades, contests, and seeing old friends, as well as a lucrative fundraiser for the many organizations who have food booths. 

You might want to check out these USI-affiliated booths:

• Evansville Young Life No. 21
• USI College of Liberal Arts No. 38 (formerly USI Art Club booth)
• Lambda Chi Alpha No. 61
• Delta Zeta No. 70
• Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) No. 73
• Alpha Sigma Alpha No. 104
• USI Varsity Club No. 107 

With 137 booths offering all sorts of deliciousness, you’re going to want to consult this Munchie Map.

Fall also reminds us of Halloween, October 31.  Lots of people go all out to decorate for Halloween—I’ve already seen many yards sporting ghosts, skeletons, etc.  Stores have already stocked plenty of candy for trick-or-treaters, too. 

The university no longer has the Children’s Center mentioned in this photograph.

One of my favorite signs of fall is the autumn beauty of our campus.  The following photographs are courtesy of USI Photography and Multimedia, the public gallery.  The first is undated, the following two are from 2013.

Whether you are going to eat yourself into a coma at the Fall Festival, ghoulishly decorate your house/apartment/dorm, go trick-or-treating in your wildest costume, or merely enjoy the visual splendors of the season, here’s to a great Fall!