Royals Go Downtown is an annual event at EMU, and ran for the second time on Thursday the 28th. Since I didn’t get to go last year, I was very excited to have free food, hang out with friends, and just have a good time in general. It was an incredible experience and one that I very much look forward to happening next year. 

I had heard from last year that it was okay, but it wasn’t much to write home about. So, to be fair, my expectations weren’t the highest going into it. But I had an absolute blast, it was a very good time. Me and my friends drove down instead of taking the bus, but we still managed to find everyone ahead of time and get settled in. We then walked around downtown with the rest of the group, led by EMU’s very own pep band, and sampled amenities provided by various downtown restaurants and businesses. Myself and a couple of other lucky people also got the opportunity to even go inside the new cat cafe, Aristocat Cafe, which was a very lovely place. As a long-time cat enjoyer, it was really cool to be able to go in and get a little taste (it’s a metaphor, I promise I’m not tasting the cats). 

Cats aside, the food from all of the different stops along the way was very good, and a very interesting hodgepodge of tastes from the downtown area. I think my personal favorites were the Sticky Nugs from Billy Jacks, the frozen lemonade from Sage Bird Ciderworks, and of course, Benny’s huge pizza slices at the very end. Hanging out with friends was also really great, and I also got to connect again with people that I haven’t been able to see in a while. I could really tell the sense of community was strong from our group as we went around downtown. Not just from within our group, but the connection that EMU has made with the local businesses of downtown Harrisonburg was really cool to see.

I think that Royals Go Downtown is a really great way to be able to meet new people, try new foods, and be able to support the businesses downtown. It was really great to see that there were so many new Freshmen there getting to experience the city and really find their place within our EMU and the wider Harrisonburg community. Even for students that have been at EMU for a year or more at this point, it still never goes amiss to help bolster your community by going to events like these. I have so much praise for the minds behind this event and the EMU administration who helped to make this large-scale event possible. I think that Royals Go Downtown is a must for future years at EMU, and I very much look forward to seeing this event grow and continue on in the future.