The hills are alive with GavFEST 2005.
The hills are alive with GavFEST 2005.
Gavilan College opens its doors to the community today for its second annual spring festival.
The free festival serves as both an opportunity for community outreach and an open house for prospective students.
“It’s a little thank you to the community,” said Fran Lozano, Gavilan’s dean of liberal arts and sciences. “We really have expanded the kids area this year which I think is going to be wonderful.”
More than 800 attended GavFEST last year and hundreds more are expected today. There will be at least 300 student volunteers on hand.
One major difference from last year is the addition of free food to the festival. Local businesses will be providing Hawaiian and Mexican food as well as pizza.
Visitors can cheer on competitors in the cardboard boat races, as participants paddle across the Gavilan pool in homemade cardboard floats.
Rumor has it that the competition between the Gavilan staff competing is beyond fierce.
“The only penalty is getting wet,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin, Gavilan’s director of public information.
But if you’re more of a landlubber, visit the duck pond. After a biology and ecology lesson participate in a scavenger hunt.
And to get your heart rate going, try a little three-on-three basketball clinic. Gavilan’s physical education department will perform martial arts, fencing and football demonstrations and offer workshops for the general public.
Feeling less ambitious?
Take a stroll through campus with retired instructor Mark Levine and learn some mysterious facts about the campus on the “Ghosts of Gavilan Tour.”
“He’s going to tell stories about the people that used to be here …,” Lozano hinted. And if you’re in need of some pampering, cosmetology students will give you a new hair style and manicure.
Throughout the day students and guests can collect information about the different programs on campus, and experiment with some of the campus’ technology. Prospective students can meet with counselors to discuss financial aid options.
GavFEST is Saturday from 10am to 3pm on the Gilroy Gavilan campus, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd.
Gilroy Dispatch reporter Kristen Munson can be reached at km*****@************ch.com or 847-7097.
