All Hall-O-Ween
Bearfest
Boat Dance
Spring Program
Previous Spring Programs
All Hall-O-Ween:
All Hall-O-Ween is an annual event put on by RHA in
October to celebrate the spirit of Halloween in a fun and community
oriented way. This event began in 2001 with the hope of providing
a safe alternative for youth in the Berkeley, Richmond, and Oakland
areas during the Halloween season. For this event, RHA invites students
from local elementary schools and Berkeley’s own Family Housing
to come trick-or-treat in the residence halls. The children are
bused over to the residence halls where residents are welcome to
pass out candy provided by Cal Dining, act as tour guides for the
children, decorate their halls and lounges for a possible decoration
contest and dress up in their best Halloween attire. One other fun
way residents can get involved and interact with the children is
by working with their hall associations and unit communities to
organize a fun “after trick-or-treating” event for the
kids. Past events have included: Kiddie-Carnivals, Arts and Crafts
Corners, Haunted Houses and more. Don’t miss out on this awesome
way to connect with the Berkeley community this Halloween. More information will be available from your RHA reps and through posters at a Residence Hall near you. Sign ups for tour guides and candy givers start soon!
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Bearfest:
Bearfest is an annual event put on by RHA in November
to celebrate the rich history of People’s Park. Beginning
in 1996, this event was known as the Scare Crow Festival, it then
became Harvest Day for the next two years and eventually the name
changed to what it is now, Bearfest. Bearfest consists of a variety
of fun and engaging activities for residents. Jump houses, the famous
twisty balloon man, a rock wall, raffles, various contests and free
food are only a few of the things that make Bearfest an exciting
day. In celebrating the park’s history, RHA also invites local
bands to play at the event and hall associations to maintain a carnival
booth. Past booths have included henna, bowling, creating cal paraphernalia
and tie-dying clothing. Often the most interesting and important
part of the event is the chance to reflect on the park’s history,
which is made possible by the large panels of pictures and information
provided by previous activists. It is a free carnival that you won’t
want to miss, so look out for more information in your residence
halls this coming fall!
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Boat Dance:
Each year in April RHA invites residents and guests
to conclude the year with a night on the San Francisco Belle, a
3-decker marvelous boat on which complimentary non-alcoholic drinks
and desserts are served, 2 floors of dancing are reserved and the
beautiful San Francisco Bay is clearly visible. This semi-formal
spring dance began as RHA’s House Party in 1999, which was
held in Pauley Ballroom. It then moved to a boat setting in San
Francisco. At first, each unit held its own boat dance, but as the
program grew more popular, it became a single wide-scale event put
on centrally by RHA. Past boat dance themes have included: Moulin
Rouge, Casino Royal, Paris Je t’aime, Midnight Masquerade
and more. This is the only event put on by RHA that has a limitation
on the number of residents and guests that can participate and that
requires payment. You won’t want to miss out, so look out
for more information this coming spring!
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Spring Program:
Each Spring between February and March, RHA puts on
a Spring Program. This event is not annual and is decided upon with
resident interest and RHA staff and representative input in mind.
Past Spring Programs have been: ResHall Feud, Hall Olympics, Cal
Idol, Around the World Awareness, Bear Talent and more. For further
descriptions of past events, please refer to the below information.
If you would like to see a particular type of event take place this
year, please feel free to give us your suggestions by emailing the
Vice President of Programming at rhaprograms@berkeley.edu.
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Previous Spring
Programs:
• Hall Olympics (1992): RHA sponsored its first Hall Olympics
in honor of the real Olympic games taking place at that time. Twenty
three residence hall teams competed in this program at the Underhill
field for the coveted “California Cup”. Events included
pie eating contests, tug of war, obstacle courses, water balloon
relays and ultimate frisbee matches.
• Cal Idol (2005): RHA sponsored Cal Idol based on the popular
reality television series, American Idol. The event was held in
Wheeler Auditorium where students competed for a variety of prizes.
• ResHall Feud (2006): RHA sponsored a ResHall Feud based
on the popular game show, Family Feud. In order for RHA to facilitate
this program they sent out a list of 101 survey questions in relation
to residence hall, Berkeley and other general trivia topics. After
this, RHA hosted the game show in Wheeler Auditorium where there
were 6 rounds and 12 teams of residents. Prizes included $250 to
amazon.com for the highest scoring team, $125 to amazon.com for
the second highest and $350 worth of other free items for all participants.
Survey says…this event was a success!
• Around the World Awareness (2007): This program was meant
to open the eyes of residents to various social and economic issues
as well as distribute general information about different countries
in the world. Posters and pamphlets with pictures and blurbs were
placed in the dining commons during dinner and in each residence
hall. Surveys were also taken to test residents’ knowledge
on world trivia.
• Bear Talent (2008): This talent showcase had the goal of
allowing residents to express their individual talents while also
giving back to the local Berkeley community by donating items to
the Suitcase Clinic. The event was held on an evening in March at
the Krutch Theatre in CKC and had various residents dance, sing
and play instruments throughout the night. Hundreds of items were
donated to the Suitcase Clinic and those who donated were eligible
to win one of five prize baskets each worth $50.
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