As the temperature should be dropping, people begin to decorate and students settle into the mood by participating in fall festivals and activities. Mackenzie McHugh (’27) talks about her traditions for the season.

“I usually go to the pumpkin patch at the church down the road with my family. I’m not sure what the name of it is but I believe it’s called Hope United Methodist Church,” McHugh said.

Fall festivals and events that begin to set up also increase the number of people traveling to Florida for the period.

“Sometimes I will go for Thanksgiving to my grandparents house who live in Panama City, but during the fall we usually stay here,” McHugh said.

Cafes and establishments have begun to open their seasonal drink menus and while some are buying them to get into the fall mood, others don’t enjoy pumpkin spice the same way.

“I like the smell of it, but I don’t like pumpkin spice lattes. My mom likes the witchy side of fall, though, so sometimes we’ll put up a cinnamon broomstick on the wall and it makes the whole house smell really good,” McHugh said.

While some enjoy the spooky side of the season, others would rather stay inside and enjoy the misty weather from inside. Inga Gankhuu (’25) talks about what she likes to do instead of attending halloween events and activities.

“During fall sometimes I’ll stay indoors and read, or because the weather is really nice I’ll go out for walks,” Gankhuu said.

Recently the weather has been dropping and some students are liking the chilly weather for a change.

“Where I’m from, Mongolia, school usually begins on September 1st or the first Monday in September, so starting in August has been a change for me since I got here,” Gankhuu said.

Watching horror movies and baking fall treats is also a common fall tradition for many.

“When I think of fall, I think of the spooky season, so watching horror movies is something I like to do too. I’ll usually watch movies like Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Scream, other classic horrors and Tim Burton movies,” Gankhuu said.

In the fall season Starkey market offers a variety of sizes of pumpkins and fall drinks, as well as Starbucks opening their fall drink line that began in September.

At the end of the day, fall is the favorite season of many people and everyone celebrates in different ways.