Coastal Carolina University students have taken a major part in planning the upcoming Fall into Conway Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3. Student majoring in recreation and sport management have worked closely with the City of Conway Parks and Recreation Department and Main Street Conway USA to organize and implement the event, which will include a variety of games, activities and a 5K Walk/Run.

"Students in our program and event planning class have gotten some valuable real-world experience in what it takes to put on a public event," said Gib Darden, associate dean and director of the School of Health, Kinesiology and Sport Studies. "This gives them the opportunity to take classroom concepts and implement them into a real world setting."

The students worked on all aspects of the event, according to Don Rockey, recreation and sports management professor and program coordinator at Coastal Carolina University. They wrote press releases, created flyers and visited public schools and daycare facilities. They scheduled live entertainment and negotiated prices for amusements. The students also created a budget to track expenditures and revenues, and have created a customer satisfaction survey to administer during the event. They worked on logistics, risk management and a multitude of other tasks, according to Rockey.

Fall into Conway Festival will begin with a 5K walk/run at 7 a.m. under the Conway bridge. Entrance fee for the race is $15 and includes a T-shirt. Prizes will be given to the top male and female finishers. The top two finishers in each age group will also receive prizes.

Other events will follow beginning at 8 a.m. under the Conway bridge including inflatable rides, games, live entertainment and firetruck rides.

For more information, contact Harriette Louis, administrative specialist in the school of health, kinesiology and sport studies at 843-349-6568.