Although the day was aimed at younger children, many of the volunteers at Saturday’s Cabin Fever Festival seemed to be having as much fun as the attendees. As a fundraiser for childcare in Tompkins County, the festival packed Barton Hall with games, crafts, entertainment and food.
Many local businesses and organizations had informational tables set up around Barton, and the Ithaca Fire Department also was on hand to show children around the inside of a fire engine.
“I was so surprised because I didn’t realize what a big thing this was,” said Kate Brown ’04, who volunteered with the Tompkins County Young Republicans working with the youngest children.
Brown was excited to see the family of one of her professors at the event, describing the day as “a good community experience.”
Kids collected prizes at the carnival and made crafts and artwork. Young athletes shot hoops with Cornell football players while performers danced, sang, and weaved baskets on the stage.
Four-year old Rikee Mayu said her favorite activity was the dress up, but she also enjoyed the Moon Bounce, which was well worth the long line.
“I went on that thing,” she said. “I jumped on it.”
Nicki Quarrier and her group of friends most enjoyed the food and their bags full of prizes from the carnival. The 12 year-olds won their loot from booths such as the ring toss run by Saveen Ahuja’s ’01.
Ahuja boasted that his prizes included “anything from hats to balloons, tweety birds, your basic little tiny cars, and stuffed salamanders.”
Ahuja heard about the festival from a friend and decided to volunteer “just because I love kids.”
“It’s just a great experience,” he said. “I wish I’d done it before.”
Amy Gorman ’02 created an obstacle course for festival attendees as a leadership project for ROTC. Dressed in fatigues, she waited for the kids to finish the course so she could give them a “good job!” Gorman said she was very excited to see “kids go in an out like five times.”
Hae Won Lee ’01 worked in the crafts booth with some of her fellow sorority sisters from the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. Lee helped children make splatter paints.
“I think it’s really inspired me to volunteer more,” she said.
Dressed as Little Bo Peep, Andrea Eaton ’02 spent the day asking children if they had found her sheep while toting her staff and wearing a bright pink lacy costume,
As a volunteer for Circle K, a service organization, Eaton has participated in the festival in the past but never as Little Bo Peep.
“I’ve gotten the most hugs all day,” she said.
Archived article by April Sommer