By Olivia Rizzo
Social Media Editor
Dotted with blue tents, the main road of Campus Town attracted groups of residents as they celebrated the opening of their new home on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The Campus Town block party, organized by the Campus Town Resident Advisors (RAs) welcomed students to the official opening of new apartment buildings and shopping area.
The block party featured vendor tables of some of the new businesses that are set to open this fall. Free merchandise and food enticed students to visit all of the various tables and to gain more information about the up-and-coming attractions.
“It’s a really great way to get the campus to see Campus Town and see everything that is going to be offered,” junior special education and history double major Jenn Pagliaro said as she walked through the block party with friends.
One of the new places students will be able to enjoy in the fall is Mexican Mariachi Grill. The family-owned restaurant offered up free samples of homemade chips, salsa and quesadillas for students to munch on as they walked through the streets and ventured over to other vendor tables. Students could cool off with authentic Mexican drinks like Horchata, which contained rice and cinnamon, provided by the stand.
“I think it’s a good way to get everyone excited about the new restaurants opening up,” junior English major Shina Patel said as she sampled the offerings from Mexican Mariachi Grill, “but I would have liked to see other restaurants here, as well.”
Students can’t wait for the newly minted eateries to open their doors for business as they try to guess which new storefront will open up first.
Not to be outdone by the free samples of food, Spencer’s Savings Bank and Enterprise Carshare passed out free merchandise with their company’s name and logo printed across backpacks and frisbees, all while offering helpful information to interested students.
Energy was kept up thanks to music provided by WSTR and games and activities hosted by the lively RAs.
Campus Town RAs provided free soft pretzels with a selection of dips for students to enjoy. Students could also play a game of Cornhole or Ladderball as they soaked up some of the last warm rays of the summer sun.
“It’s been really fun going around to see some of the things that will be open soon and being able to meet some of the people living in other buildings,” senior graphic design major Klara Blazek said.
Students were also able to press their luck by entering a raffle contest and trying to win fish in a ping pong ball toss. Laughter and shouts of joy punctuated the afternoon activities as they took in everything Campus Town has to offer.
Pagliaro reflected on her afternoon spent with friends, saying, “I think Campus Town has done a really good job of incorporating itself into the TCNJ community.”
