Clark’s autumn tradition continues in the 2022-2023 school year with another fun and festive Clarktoberfest! The annual fall festival has been a staple of Clark culture for 12 years, with its debut in 2010. With the whole school released to spend Friday enrichment in a carnivalesque environment, celebrating the season with great food proves to be yet another success here on campus.

Planning for Clarktoberfest starts before the event itself, since an event this big requires careful organization. Junior Hailey Wong, the Director of Activities for ASB, talks about the importance of the fair. “Clarktoberfest helps students by giving them something to look forward to at the end of the day, and gives them a chance to hang out with their friends,” Wong says. 

Nevertheless, the process isn’t as smooth as it seems. “Our original plan for Clarktoberfest was to have it on the field and rent inflatable games,” Wong says.  “But because of some difficulties with the company, we were unable to have the games and [we] had to hold it in the amphitheater.” Not only was the venue changed from last year’s Clarktoberfest, but tickets were sold online instead of in the amphitheater as usual.

As the time approaches for the fun to begin, news about Clarktoberfest takes place in conversations around the whole campus. In addition to switching ticket purchases to online, advertisements have also been taken to the internet on apps like Instagram. Dr. Landisi also made announcements on Student Square to get news around about the upcoming event. 

Right before enrichment, ASB members and clubs came down to set up their stations. Once they all set up, it was only a matter of time before the students flooded the amphitheater. The smells of all the different food being served mixed in the air as students roamed around outside. From the perashki to cotton candy and boba, the assortment of food was wonderful. The first couple of minutes became as frenzy as students from all grades rushed to get their favorite treats, but eventually it became calm as everyone settled down to enjoy the food.

Besides the fact Clarktoberfest is about the students and staff enjoying themselves, it’s also to benefit the classes and clubs. “We sold candy bags with Mexican candy,” said senior Dainy Laguna, a member of the club Latinos Unidos. “It really helped benefit the club with all the fundraising we did.”

Sophomores Celine Yousefian and Inesa Mkrtchyan both agreed that the best part of Clarktoberfest this year was the food. However, they also both agreed that the previous year’s Clarktoberfest was better. “It was in a bigger field, and actually had games for us to play,” said Yousefian. 

While this year’s Clarktoberfest may have been on a smaller scale, it was still successful with delicious food, fundraising, and a great way to end the week.