Everybody put on your flannels, get your logs ready, and prepare your loudest “TIMBER!” A fall tradition at EMU is the Choptober Fest, a large event dedicated to autumn, ax throwing, and lumberjacks everywhere. It was held on Oct. 9 in the Parkwoods quad, and what a party it was! 

The day started off with a log throwing event, where competitors chucked their logs an impressive distance.  First-year student Aidan Weaver, who was a promising contender for the win in this category, said: “The log throwing was definitely my favorite part, I think I would have had a better shot at winning if I had done better on the second throw, but it was still pretty good.” 

The second event was the flapjack flip. Two-person teams lined up and faced each other with one teammate on each side. Each team was given a pancake and two paper plates, and the goal was to throw the pancake from one plate to another while getting progressively further away from each other. It was eventually narrowed down to three teams, my own team being one of them. However, that wasn’t for long, as we were eliminated right after. The sophomore team of Sophie Kirkton and Nathan Oostland took the victory, standing an impressive distance from each other as they effortlessly flipped their flapjacks to each other’s plates. 

The timber-shouting competition was very straightforward: just yell “TIMBER” as loud as you can into the decibel reader. First-year Imari Knight, the winner, got an impressive 120 decibels, which, for reference, is about as loud as a clap of thunder. 

Next was the wood sawing competition, which was won by sophomore Levi Peachey-Stoner. In regards to his technique, he said: “You gotta use really fast up-and-down motions, it’s also better to have the log higher up. Practicing beforehand also makes perfect.” His knowledge and expertise were clear.

 Overall, Choptober Fest was a great time, and it seems like those organizing it had a blast putting it together too. “Tyler Goss came up with most of the event ideas, and we used a lot from last year”, said junior Katelyn Sellars, a CAC member who helped to organize Choptober. “I’m really glad I got to work on it this year since I didn’t have the opportunity last time. The ax-throwing was my favorite part, it’s always really satisfying when the ax sticks.” And it was true, the ax-throwing was incredibly satisfying, and the event was a  great way to take off a load of stress after a long week of school!