PHOTOS AND STORY BY LAURYN BECKER
Every year the Comeau Catholic Campus Center holds their annual “Wine and Cheese” event where students get to relax and partake in fellowship with one another. With a dance and plenty of games and snacks for all to enjoy, the Campus Center is looking forward to another successful year of the tradition.
“Wine and Cheese is our semester dance that has remained a tradition at the Comeau Catholic Campus Center for several years now. It began as a small gathering of students in the home of one of the members of Catholic Disciples and has grown into a party for the entire organization that we host in the fall and spring. It serves as a way to foster community and to bring students together in a fun environment of food, games, and dancing,” Vice President of Catholic Disciples Jenna Schmit said.
Last year Catholic Disciples took a new approach to the event. In keeping in tradition with still hosting the event, they decided to move the event to Halloween calling the event “Whine and Screams.”
“We were created for community and too often we find ourselves getting caught up in the stresses that come with college life. This gives us a chance to celebrate the goodness of life with each other,” Schmit said. “Last year was our first time hosting the Halloween version of the event with the name “Whine and Screams”. We are super excited to get to incorporate the holiday and encourage people to dress up for some clean fun and fraternity.”
The Community Outreach Coordinator, Kaleb King, stated that the event was such a success last year that they couldn’t wait to hold it again.
“Last year we decided to host our annual wine and cheese dance on Halloween and it was a hit, so it was an easy decision to do the same again this year. We are deciding to keep it more simple with the decoration this year than we did last year,” King said.
As far as planning goes, the Catholic Disciples board members began preparations over a month ago, and have been working diligently to make sure the night is a success. Keeping true to tradition while still adding fun and spooky elements have been the name of the game when it comes to planning an event such as this.
“We have been planning this event for over a month now. This will be our second year in a row doing it Halloween weekend, so hopefully it just keeps getting better,” Kellyn Wahlmeier, the Catholic Disciples’ Women’s Event Coordinator said.
In addition to the Whine and Screams event on Friday night, Catholic Disciples as a whole had a very exciting and fun week of festivities to celebrate the upcoming holiday.
“We were very active at Catholic Disciples this week as October winds down. On Monday we brought in Father Josh Werth to talk about demonology and the way teachings of the Catholic Church in regard to the fall of the angels and the impact that evil has when we invite it into our lives through sin and giving over our will. Tuesday night was a craft service night for the nursing homes around Hays. We had students come in to make cards, pumpkins, and scarecrows to deliver to the people who have been isolated in care centers,” Schmit said. “Wednesday night we had our weekly Catholic Disciples meeting. This week we celebrated Candlelight Mass where we experience the sacrament of the Eucharist in a dark chapel, only seeing by the light of small flames. It allows for greater focus throughout the Mass and brings peace throughout the students who gather.”
King stated that he is looking forward to the food the most, as well as seeing everyone come out for the dance too.
“I’m super excited for the event because who doesn’t love a good dance party and Halloween? As always we will have meat and cheese platers but we are going to have a variety of dips this year, the thing I’m most looking forward to this year!” he said.
For more information on how to get involved with Catholic Disciples, visit https://www.catholictigers.org.