This year’s Winter Wonderland Family Festival will take place on Saturday, December 6 from 12:00-6:00 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas College! Learn more here.
Students from the College’s Hospitality Management Program who are learning the ins and outs of event planning work alongside Professor Angela McDonnell to prep, setup, and execute this large-scale community event.
Professor McDonnell states: “The work begins in early September when I huddle with a team of students to explain how they will participate in the annual Winter Wonderland Family Festival. Their responsibilities include scheduling, marketing, budgeting, and execution of the event.”
The event, founded five years ago, began as a suggestion during one of STAC President Ken Daly’s “listening tours,” when he first took the helm as President. STAC was honing in on the importance of experiential learning and career development. The term Experiential Learning (EL) is often misunderstood, sometimes perceived simply as an “internship”. EL is an opportunity to learn while doing. With event planning, students are allocated management roles and responsibilities. In these roles, they experience and navigate genuine challenges. The Marketing Manager, for example, is responsible for creating a marketing plan that includes branding and creating collateral material for an event. The Public Relations Manager executes the marketing plan. Other management roles include budgeting and accounting, vendor recruitment, volunteer recruitment, and training.
What’s critical to this work – and the Festival – is that it forges partnerships with Rockland County businesses. Student Nicole Cangelosi spent weeks communicating with and securing vendors. Creating these alliances creates a portal for graduating students to align with local businesses.
“Being part of the Event Planning and Management team for the Winter Wonderland Family Festival has been an extremely rewarding experience,” said Cangelosi. “It has provided me with the opportunity to grow professionally while contributing to the success of such a wonderful community event. As a Human Resource Manager, I was responsible for a variety of tasks, including reaching out to vendors, managing the registration forms, and training volunteers. I was constantly monitoring my emails to stay on top of important updates since I was the main contact for vendors. These skills will not only support my professional development but will also play a significant role in my long-term success throughout my career.”
But that is not where the need for local business support ends. The WWFF is made possible through the sponsorship and generosity of local businesses. Beckerle Home Design Center, Celtic Sheet Metal and EDUTrips have supported the event since 2020. In the true spirit of collaboration and local networking, each business invests in a local event that serves as a platform for community involvement and student learning. Students develop essential skills in procuring sponsorship through the initial ‘ask’ to the final ‘thank you for your support’.
Local businesses meet students, and students can make an impression, which could lead to a job offer or a first step into a career opportunity.
Murphy Wood Art has been a vendor since the first event. “This event is a win-win because it allows local businesses to team up with these wonderful college students to put forth a great event that serves the community while also giving vendors like us a chance to showcase our work in-person,” said Margaret Dowling-Murphy.
The event has grown every year, with nearly 2,000 attendees visiting campus. This could not happen without the tenacity and the social media skills of the students.
“The Hospitality Management Program at STAC played a pivotal role in shaping me into the professional I am today,” said student Alexis Breeze. “Being a part of the Event Planning and Management class challenged me to grow as a professional by treating me like one. This class gave me the opportunity to work directly with outside vendors and organizations, managing real world responsibilities that require critical thinking and staying organized. My experience with the program not only strengthened my skills in communication but prepared me to thrive in high pressure situations. I have secured incredible internships with Saint Laurent and Hermès.”
Angela McDonnell is a St. Thomas Aquinas College Professor and Coordinator of the Hospitality Management Program