Halloween Family Film Fest held at Rio

The Arts and Cultural division hosted a Halloween themed film festival, kicking off its first event of three scheduled for this month. The event was geared towards families and community members alike, allowing for everyone to enjoy watching Monsters, Inc. together.

Cultural events coordinator, Carolyn Robertson, explains that the reason behind picking Monsters, Inc. was meant to be something that even if you’d already seen it, you’d want to see again.

“We really picked a film that adults could enjoy, too,” explained Robertson.

There was no assigned seating for this event, and viewers were scattered around the room ranging from students to children.

The lobby of the Wray Theater was decorated in Halloween ornaments. Outside there was a cart where there were drinks and other snacks available to purchase. During the film, free popcorn and candy were given to each audience member, either before entering the theater or delivered personally once seated.

The film was viewed using a projector screen placed in the middle of the stage.

After the film, a Halloween costume contest was announced, with the participating members having to go on stage. There were six costumes to be judged by Robertson and theater technician, Jennifer Scott. The categories ranged from most creative to scariest costume. Some costumes shown included a Ghostbuster, Darth Vader, and Spiderman.

Samantha Gutierrez, a student who attended the event with her kids, commented that she found out of the event when she saw the posters, and expressed that she would love to come to an event similar to this one.

The next event for this month is an art gallery running from Oct. 17 till Nov. 18. The gallery, titled Tool Crib, had its reception Oct. 18 at 7pm.

All of the events hosted are free unless stated otherwise, but there is a $3 parking fee. Be sure to look at the arts and cultural events calendar for future events around campus.