Fenway Park Hosts Local Students for CollegeFest 2016

Instead of the usual peanuts and baseball fans, on Saturday afternoon Fenway Park was filled with flocks of local college students attracted by the live music and free giveaways of CollegeFest 2016.

With a light fall breeze stirring in the air, students traversed the ballpark with brand-marked bags in tow to collect goodies from a variety of organizations marketing themselves to attendees—ranging from Zipcar to the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. The stage situated in between vendors hosted various musicians playing music that ranged from indie rock to a capella.

Students at the event could spin wheels or download mobile applications to get promotional swag or free food samples. Many walked away from the event with both stomachs and bags full.

A handful of Harvard students attended the event, which also attracted students from schools all over the Boston area, including Simmons College, Emmanuel College, Boston University, and Northeastern University.

According to Paul Tedeschi, chief executive officer and founder of the Campus Agency, the company that operates CollegeFest, the annual event serves two primary purposes: It gives vendors an opportunity to market their products and services to college students in creative ways, and gives local students an afternoon to meet other students, play games, and gather free gear.

CollegeFest originated in the mid-1980s when it was hosted at the Commonwealth Armory, he said. After later moving to the Hynes Convention Center, the event has called Fenway Park home for the past few years.

After charging admission for many years to cover the costs of headlining artists, the event is now free for all students as vendors are becoming the primary source of entertainment, Tedeschi said.

One of the sponsors present at the event was the company Swag'r, which runs a mobile app that uses geolocation technology to connect users with targeted deals. Company founder Greg William said that he and his team were at CollegeFest to generate buzz around their product, and hoped to have over 5,000 downloads by the end of the day.

Campus Agency has expanded CollegeFest beyond Boston to other locations including the DCU Center in Worcester and an additional location in Philadelphia, according to Tedeschi.

He said the agency hopes to eventually partner with the City of Boston to turn the event into a “welcome weekend” for students in the area, starting with CollegeFest and then offering events throughout the weekend to get students to explore the city.