Each year, Villanova’s Special Olympics’ Fall Festival begins with the lighting of the torch on campus.
Students, faculty, staff and athletes gather and line the quad in anticipation of the runners arriving to kickstart the weekend.
The event will occur on Nov 7., and participants will run the 28 miles from Navy Yard in South Philadelphia to Villanova’s William B. Finneran Pavillion.
Participants include law enforcement, athletes and community members.
There are 18 segments of the race, ranging from a half mile to three and a half miles.
Runners will race through a route that courses through the city and the surrounding suburbs.
All proceeds of the race benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA).
The Flame Of Hope is the torch that is used to begin the games, and it is carried for the run’s entire duration.
Along with the physical lighting of the torch, Fall Festival will begin with several performances and healthy athletes screenings.
Meagan Clancy is a current Volunteer Coordinator (VC) with the food team. Clancy has been participating in the Special Olympics since her freshman year, in which she was an Inclusion Crew member (IC).
While she has a few favorite events at Special Olympics, the lighting of the torch has always been incredibly special to her.
“The torch run is one of my favorite parts of Fall Fest,” Clancy said. “You can really feel the energy and the excitement when the runners arrive at Villanova.”
Clancy also emphasized the importance of community gathering at Fall Fest, and how this event highlights the importance of Special Olympics.
She shared her first experience seeing the lighting live her freshman year, and how impactful the event was to witness.
“Everyone there was so excited and cheering,” Clancy said. “I remember being an LPH and witnessing it for the first time, and it really got me even more excited to start the fall fest.”
While the race ends on Villanova’s campus, members of the Greater Philadelphia area also gather to watch the runners race.
The run is led by members of the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Fall Festival Torch Run also serves as a memorial for fallen officers across the state of Pennsylvania.
Hailey Euston is the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA). Euston Spoke with The Villanovan about the value the Torch Run brings to campus.
“The students have truly embraced it, it’s quite an amazing kickoff to the event,” Euston said. “Because there’s our athletes, who are on a competition break, and then the LPH student leaders and committee members, they all come out in line the quad for the arrival and the lighting of the cauldron. So it truly is a great event that maybe the students aren’t logistically super involved in, but they have really embraced and helped this become a super nice tradition for the arrival of the flame of hope.”
While only the first event of many of Special Olympics Fall Festival, the Torch race incites excitement and sets the tone for the rest of the events and ceremonies that occur that weekend.
Additionally, it brings together the entire Villanova community and surrounding areas to witness what Fall Fest means to the University as the largest host of Special Olympics in the country.
For many, this is their first experience with the Special Olympics, and the goal is to foster as much enthusiasm as possible.
The cauldron will be lit by 3 p.m., and ceremonies will commence by 7 p.m.
Students and community members are encouraged to line the quad ahead of when runners are scheduled to arrive. During this time, attendees will cheer the runners on and celebrate the official start to the Fall Fest Weekend events and festivities.
