Cosmetology’s Bridal & Springfest weekend showcases popular ideas for special events

This archived article was written by: Kelsie Knudsen

Kelsie Jo Knudsen
staff writer [email protected]
Everyone who has helped sponsor a major event or had their fair share of helping out with time consuming, extreme “themed” event will understand the time and effort of organizing a community of business people along with a college department. Keep this in mind when you think about the success of the recent cosmetology department-sponsored Bridal and Springfest Fair hosted in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center on January 21-22 to earn scholarship money for its students. With fashion shows, booths, and giveaways, the show proved even better and bigger than last year.
College of Eastern Utah’s Cosmetology Department hosted a Bridal Fair for a second year, broadened their horizons and renamed it the Springfest and Bridal Fair in hopes to appeal to a broader audience. They expanded to include ideas for many other special occasions such as prom, Valentine’s Day, Easter and graduation, rather than just weddings. There were many events, including 50-minute fashion shows, with students as models, displaying the latest styles of casual wear, prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses and wedding gowns, plus four guys parading around in tuxedos.
Student involvement is a huge aspect of this event. The students take part in planning, modeling, setup, take down, helping exhibitors and selling tickets. The instructors allow the students to be a part of all the details because it is a great learning experience and will help them in the future if they ever decide to help or possibly plan their own bridal fair or an event similar to it.
The attendance this year was greater than last year, and they have bright hopes for the future. Debbie Pritchard, cosmetology department instructor and creator of the bridal fair said, “We hope that this keeps growing, we want more exhibits. Next year we want to give a gift to all the brides that attend and plan on having a raffle and possibly giving away big prizes, such as a vacation or diamonds. We also would like to see more advertisement throughout the town, especially on Main Street, with banners and a personal logo.”
A huge part of their success this year can be credited to the local businesses and their charitable donations. The Sun Advocate donated countless advertisements and KOAL donated a 30-second public service announcement every hour, 24 hours a day. It is the support from the local businesses that keeps events like this running.
The best part of a fund-raiser is the cause, in this case the cosmetology scholarship fund. All of the money raised from this event will go to future cosmetology students who do not qualify for financial aid, grants or loans, but who really need the money to further their education. “We are here to educate, not make a profit. We want to help the community and help students further their education,” Pritchard added.
She also could not emphasize how much everyone who was a part of the event helped to make it a success. “A lot of people came together to make it successful,” she said.