Pitt students celebrate fall with fest

Pitt students welcomed fall with music and games at Pitt’s annual Fall Fest Saturday… Pitt students welcomed fall with music and games at Pitt’s annual Fall Fest Saturday afternoon.

Starting at 1 p.m., Pitt Program Council members set up various activities, including pumpkin decorating, henna tattooing, cider pong, airbrushed T-shirts, koozie decorating, Cornhole and inflatable basketballs and footballs, on the patio of the William Pitt Union. Organizers of Pitt Make a Difference Day ran the popcorn machines.

“The airbrushed T-shirts were definitely a favorite. Pumpkin decorating was also very popular,” Jillian Reilly, the council’s special events director, said.

Reilly, a junior, began working with the rest of the special events committee in April to plan the event. The group booked musical guests over the summer.

Dan Bendit, student winner of the Battle of the Bands competition, sang and played acoustic guitar and keyboard to kick off the musical performances at 3:30 p.m. Headlining bands The White Tie Affair and Cute is What We Aim For followed.

“The committee chooses bands based on who is available and falls within our price range,” Reilly said.

PPC members built the set on Friday evening on Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth and Forbes avenues.

“We were there from about 5 to 9. It rained the whole time, but we got it done,” sophomore PPC member Virginia Hoffmann said.

The White Tie Affair took the stage at 4:15 p.m., playing a few hits including the group’s single “Candle,” as well as the song “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga, whom they recently toured with. After the band’s set was over, lead singer Chris Wallace signed albums and talked to fans in the crowd.

Hailing from Buffalo, N.Y., Cute is What We Aim For performed at 5:30 p.m. It played a mix of songs from its first two albums, including its latest LP, Rotation.

Among the audience members was freshman Greg Ash.

“I’ve heard their music before, so I mainly came to check out their live performance,” he said.

PPC members ran all of the activities during the afternoon and helped the bands with their set changes. PPC sponsors other events throughout the year, like the Bigelow Bash in the spring.

The PPC event was free for Pitt students and $10 for all others. Students could receive OCC credit for attending.