On an unseasonably warm fall Saturday, Quinnipiac University opened its Mount Carmel Campus Quad to local families and businesses for its eighth-annual Boomer’s Boo Bash, hosted by the university’s athletics department.
Operating from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Oct. 28, the free event gave families with young children a wealth of activities to explore. They included an opportunity to interact with athletes from the majority of Quinnipiac’s 21 Division I teams, bond over arts and crafts with several student organizations, take photos with the event’s namesake —-Quinnipiac’s mascot Boomer the Bobcat —- and connect with a variety of local businesses and organizations from Hamden and beyond like Spuds Your Way and Ground Up Coffee.
Several hundred people were in attendance over the course of the day, and many were glad to have an event for their children to experience ahead of Halloween this Tuesday.
The listing for the event on Quinnipiac’s website stated that, “Costumes are encouraged, but not required.” Children in attendance certainly took advantage of the opportunity to show off their holiday outfits. The characters ranged from the famous Mario Bros., to Black Panther and the boy who lived, Harry Potter.
“It’s just a fun activity,” Hamden resident Anthony Mendez said with his son Ulysses in his arms. “It’s free. We came here last year. We really liked it. (Ulysses) really liked it as well. It’s nice thing to do for a little pre-Halloween event.”
Several Quinnipiac sports teams were in attendance, including the men’s and women’s tennis teams, men’s and women’s lacrosse and the golf team, among others. Each team ran a section of the quad that gave children a chance to try out their respective sports in kid-friendly ways.
As the faces of the event, the athletes took pride in giving back to the community in this manner.
“It’s fun. It’s not very often that all of the athletes come together to spend time hanging out, and it’s for the kids,” women’s golfer Leeyen Peralta said. “The kids are having fun. I feel like golf is always a hit. They always want to hit the ball. It’s meant for them.”
The athletics booths at Boomer’s Boo Bash also played a role in potentially helping children form new passions for different sports, like Wallingford resident Anthony Benvenuto saw with his seven-year-old son Hayden at the men’s lacrosse team’s station.
“This guy might have found a new love for a sport,” Benvenuto said as Hayden sent shots past the Quinnipiac players. “This is his first time ever picking up a lacrosse stick, but in my head (I’m saying), ‘man, another sport to play.’”
From a business standpoint, the Hamden Chamber of Commerce brought in the vendors for the event and assisted Quinnipiac in the event’s promotion to all of its member businesses.
“Any opportunity that businesses can get a chance to showcase their products and services is really great,” said Nancy Dudchik, president of the Hamden Chamber of Commerce. “We think that this event is one of the most special events that Quinnipiac University does.”
Beyond local businesses, other organizations, such as the Hamden Fire Department’s Station Nine, were in attendance as a strategy to strengthen their presence in the community, especially for local youth.
“We try to do a lot of public education as much as we can. Just trying to get the word out there about who we are and what we do,” Lieutenant Jeff Woodford said. “A lot of kids are stopping by and it’s just great talking to them.”
With the near-80 degree weather and clear skies possibly playing a role, attendees were left filled with anticipation for the event to make its return next year.
“I hope other families show up next year and it becomes a bigger event,” Hamden resident Adriana Cedeno said. “(Mendez and I) love Hamden and everything it offers to the community so we needed to check it out.”