Banana Day’s 30th Birthday Will be Bunches of Fun on April 15!
Annual Pre-Final Stress Buster Is a Rite-of-Spring at WCU
It’s officially banana season at West Chester University and there’s reason to celebrate! Banana Day will be turning 30 years-old on Wednesday, April 15, and, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. all over North Campus, bunches of fun will be had by the entire WCU community during the most appealing day of the entire year. With 2,000 bananas on hand, including a donation of 600 fairly traded Equal Exchange bananas, WCU’s student-centered tradition of organizing the most competitive banana games, whipping up delicious banana treats, and more gets better every year. The spirited annual rite of spring acts as a pre-final stress buster for all Golden Rams. Neighbors are welcome to join in, too! WCU’s North Campus is bound by 700 South High Street, Sharpless Street, South New Street, and West Rosedale Avenue (Campus Map).
The most visual banana fun will happen at 12 p.m. on the Academic Quad (located between University Avenue and West Rosedale Avenue) as students compete in the traditional Banana Toss, Banana Balance, Banana Towers, and other banana fun games. Also featured on the Academic Quad will be face painting, balloon twisting, a photobooth, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Truck, and lots more. The Residential Quad (located between University Hall and Brandywine Hall at 709 S. New Street) will be all about bananas, too, with more banana games, banana-themed crafts, banana baked goodies, and more. Lots of banana fun will also be doled out in Sykes Student Union (located at 110 W. Rosedale Avenue) with Box Stacking, Banana Grab, and even Banana Day crochet items for sale. Rounds of music trivia with “WCUR Guess That Song!” will take place near the Sykes Pergola. Students will even compete for the golden banana by climbing the giant rock wall in the Campus Rec Center (located at 275 North Campus Drive).
With Aramark’s signature Banana Buffet, as well as the Bananarama food truck’s nutritious banana whips and Scrape & Scoop, it’s going to be a healthy and yummy day on campus. Thousands of leftover banana peels will not go to waste; a host of composting features will also be incorporated into Banana Day, too.
Organized by the University’s Student Activities Council each year, 20 cases of bananas will be used during the 30th annual Banana Day. Why does everyone at WCU go bananas over Banana Day each year? It’s all about the t-shirt… The Banana Day t-shirt is a top-secret design-in-the-making every year and is not revealed until the morning of Banana Day. As a very limited edition, the specially-designed t-shirt is coveted and given only to the winners of banana games — until they last.
A great stress-reducer for West Chester University students prior to final semester exams, Banana Day was founded in 1996 by WCU alumnus Rodolfo “Rudy” Tellez, who organized the distribution of thousands of bananas across campus to celebrate West Chester University spirit.
“Everyone knows about Banana Day at WCU,” says Kaitlyn Sheehan, vice president of traditions on the University’s Student Activities Council. “Banana Day is such a special tradition for all of us, and it’s always so much fun bringing the entire campus community together for what we consider to be “our” special day. It just puts smiles on everyone’s face, and it’s a great way to go into our finals!”