With the sun setting and the wind blowing on her face, Shamir Sadberry watched as the orange colors from the sun reflected onto the water of the bayou as her and many others floated down the water on the boat.
For Sadberry and others, HawktoberFest was the perfect night to unwind, relax and enjoy the night with a boat ride on the bayou. HawktoberFest was a beer tasting event held on Oct. 10, at ULM’s Laird Weems Center. The second annual HawktoberFest was hosted by the Alumni Association and 31 Ambassadors assisted with the event.
Different breweries, like Marsala Beverage, Choice Brands and Flying Tiger Brewery, provided the beer for tasting. Sadberry, a junior pre-speech language and pathology major, said that even the breweries joined in on the fun.
“We played games of cornhole with a few employees from the breweries,” said Sadberry, a 31 Ambassador.
But this event didn’t just bring cornhole, according to Jenny Pankey, the associate director of Alumni Affairs.
The Alumni Association made sure that everything was perfect for everyone- including “potential and current students.”
“Our team is very passionate about reaching alumni, our community, current students and even potential students to take a step onto our campus because of its natural beauty and constant improvements,” Pankey said.
HawktoberFest offered plenty for alumni and students to do like boat rides from B & L Marine, games, live music by Josh Madden, beer tasting and tasty bratwurst and pretzels.
According to Pankey, HawktoberFest started as a fall fundraiser for the Alumni Association and more than 90 people showed up last year. While this year’s attendance wasn’t as high as Pankey wanted, she said the Alumni Association plans to bring more exciting things to campus.
“We are always thinking of ways to bridge the community with our beautiful campus and university. We believe our campus speaks for itself,” Pankey said. “Once they come to campus, we have them engaged and they want to be a part of our great university.”
And Sadberry said that everyone was engaged especially alumni seeing their old friends.
Pankey said for anyone who missed out on this event, “missed a great day on the bayou!”