By Julia Wagner 

We’re still reeling from this weekend–the best weekend of the year–Fall Fest! This weekend over 1,000 athletes traveled from all over Pennsylvania to compete in the largest student-run Special Olympics (SpO) event in the world, right here at Villanova University. Powerlifting in the Villanova Room, dancing in O-Town in the quad, and flag football on Sheehan Beach were just a couple of the various spots where dreams came true for countless individuals. The theme of the weekend encouraged athletes, parents, and volunteers to “dream on” because “together as a team our dreams are closer than they seem.”

I had the pleasure of being a Volunteer Coordinator for Healthy Athletes where I helped run tables with activities to promote healthy habits like gratitude, sleep, self-love, and snacks. The connections and memories that I made with athletes at Powerlifting and around the Oreo are ones I will cherish forever. I’m sad that the weekend is over, but I am so lucky to have experienced something so special. I look forward to doing it all again next year! I encourage anyone who is thinking about getting involved in Special Olympics to do so (more info here)! Getting involved is truly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the love and laughter I experienced this weekend. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and helped make dreams come true. SpO much love!

All photos courtesy of Julia Wagner.

Julia Wagner ’26 CLAS is an Economics major from New Hampshire (Go Patriots!). She works as a Communication & Marketing Student Assistant at Falvey Library.

Villanova University Archives, Villanova University. Special Olympics, 1992.

This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) celebrates the lighting of the Olympic flame at the 1992 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival. Hosted and organized by Villanova University students, the festival is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world. More than 1,200 athletes will compete at the 35th Fall Festival at Villanova University Nov. 3-5. To learn more about Fall Festival, visit this webpage.

Ethan Shea, former Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library, highlighted additional throwbacks to past Special Olympics on this blog. In 2019, Beaudry Rae Allen, Preservation & Digital Archivist, curated an exhibit containing facsimiles of photographs and programs from the early days of the event.

Best of luck to all the athletes competing this weekend!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Library.

Good luck to all the athletes competing at the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival today!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

Photo courtesy of the Villanova Digital Library. Special Olympic contenders and Villanova Students, November 1987.

This week’s Throwback Thursday (TBT) celebrates the annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival hosted and organized by Villanova University students. The festival is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world. More than 1,200 athletes will compete at the 34th Fall Festival at Villanova University on November 4-6, 2022. To learn more about Fall Festival visit this webpage.

Ethan Shea, Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library, highlighted additional throwbacks to past Special Olympics on this blog. On Falvey’s third floor, Beaudry Rae Allen, Preservation & Digital Archivist, curated an exhibit containing facsimiles of photographs and programs from the early days of the event.

Best of luck to all the athletes competing this weekend!

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.

By Ethan Shea

Photo of 2019 Special Olympics from The Villanovan

On this upcoming weekend, from Nov. 5 to 7, Villanova University will host the 33rd Annual Fall Festival and Special Olympics. More than 1000 athletes and several thousand more volunteers, spectators, and coaches will be in attendance.

The Fall Festival and Special Olympics are traditions that have been a part of Villanova University for decades. Since 1979, when Villanova hosted the Eastern State Soccer Tournament for the first time, the event has only grown. In fact, the Festival is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world, so don’t miss out!

Photo of 1987 Special Olympics found in Falvey Digital Library

The very first athletic event will be the Unified Fall Festival Torch Run, which begins on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. This non-competitive race is a marathon-distance run stretching 26.2 miles from XFINITY Live! Philadelphia to Villanova University. The event will finish at about 3 p.m. For more specifics about the order and time of events, click here.

Villanova’s version of the Olympic Village, known as “O-Town,” will reach all the way from Bartley Hall to the Oreo, making for a massive gathering of enthusiastic athletes and volunteers. Everyone is sure to be in good spirit as they cheer for the athletes participating in the six sporting events taking place during the Fall Festival this year: bocce, long-distance running, power-lifting, roller skating, soccer, and volleyball.

You can check out some throwbacks to past Special Olympics on the Falvey’s Digital Library or the Third Floor Stacks of Falvey in a display case curated by University Archivist Beaudry Rae Allen. Read this blog if you want to see the exhibit from the comfort of your home!

To learn more about these Special Olympics and all the effort that goes into hosting them, browse the event’s official website here. One of the most critical aspects of the Fall Festival is that it is carried out with no cost to the athletes, so if you are able to support the event, you have the opportunity to donate at the previous link.

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student at Villanova University and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.