Non-traditional students hope for continued fall festivities discount

By Anna Tuckett

Today at 6 p.m. Utah State University’s Non-Traditional Student Association president Pamela June began pouring cups of hot cocoa for her last Family Night, a fall-time activity held at the American West Heritage Center.

Participants agreed they can’t afford to lose the Family Night tradition after June's graduation in May.

June was the organization’s president last year when Family Night made its debut.

“One of the members of last year’s board had the idea and we contacted the American West Heritage Center," June said. "It was just so huge. People were coming to us saying, ‘thank you for doing this, we wanted to bring our family here and we couldn’t afford it.’”

Non-traditional students Jenny and Jeremiah Christensen were among those able to attend tonight’s event because of the discounted admission rate of $2. The American West Heritage Center’s regular Fall Festival rate is $9 for adults and $8 for children ages three to 11.

“We’ve lived here in Logan for three years and we haven’t been here," Jeremiah Christensen said. "The price helped us to be able to come."

“Honestly, we probably wouldn’t have come out if the tickets weren’t $2,” Jenny Christensen added.

Tonight’s attendees included 180 students and family members, comparable to last year’s numbers but still a turn-out not expected by the event’s coordinators.

“I didn’t think we’d get that many people, and it was great,” June said.

Before and after this year’s activity, June took note of ways the next president can plan this event more efficiently in the future.

“I’m just going to write down as much as I can because I’m graduating and won’t be back next year,” June said. “So hopefully it will carry on.”

The event includes refreshments, as well as a corn maze, pony and train rides, a straw obstacle course, a giant slide, a straw mountain and more activities included in the American West Heritage Center’s Fall Festival.

The cow-shaped bounce house was “so, so fun,” said Kamden Sattler, a 3-year-old who attended the event with his parents.