Hoo Stories: A UVa Student Blog: Pancakes came...and so many other things are coming.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Pancakes came...and so many other things are coming.

As almost every blogger has expressed, the fall is a wonderful time to be at the University of Virginia. To accompany the changing leaves and dropping temperatures, UVa offers a number of special events:

Football games

Mid-autumns Carnival

Homecomings

Trick-or-treating on the Lawn

History Week

Family Weekend

Third Year Ring Ceremony

Lighting of the Lawn

Two of my favorite fall events are Pancakes for Parkinson's and the Virginia Film Festival.

On October 16th, the seventh annual Pancakes for Parkinson's took place on the Lawn. Thousands of students, faculty members, and community members came together to enjoy free pancakes while making an indelible mark against Parkinson's disease. More than a dozen musical groups offered their vocal support, providing free entertainment while people enjoyed regular, blueberry, and vanilla pancakes. Two football favorites - the drum line and Cav Man - made special appearances.

Pancakes for Parkinson's is an official Team Fox fundraiser and is the largest one-day student fundraiser at UVa. Over the past seven years, the organization has contributed nearly $200,000 to Parkinson's research. The event exemplifies three integral parts of UVa culture: community, charity, and fun. Pancakes for Parkinson's is a cherished event that will be around for years to come.

Another event the UVa community values is the Virginia Film Festival (VFF). Although the event is intricately connected University, the event is literally Virginia's Film Festival. Students can attend most screenings for free, many of which have star attendees. Last year, Matthew Broderick came for the screening of his film "Wonderful World." The 2010 VFF boasts an incredible line-up of films.

One unique offering of the VFF is the Adrenaline Film Project, "a 72 hour filmmaking competition where 10 to 12 teams of three filmmakers must write, cast, shoot, edit and screen a film." Despite UVa's general status as a liberal arts school, events like the Adrenaline Film Project put the University on a similar level as more specialized, technical schools.