KAS 2025 Fall Festival: A little bit of everything, but not too much.

By Noah Lindsay On Saturday, the 15th of November, KAS opened its doors for parents and students alike to come and indulge themselves in a fantasy-themed event coupled with food, performances, and a plethora of student-led club activities and stands.

When I stepped foot on campus at 10:00 AM, I was greeted by the school orchestra tuning their instruments, getting ready for a riveting performance and a testament to Mr. Wichman’s dedication and talent when it comes to organizing and coordinating with unorganized and uncoordinated students (it’s all jokes; the performers were fantastic). The performance was short-lived and eventful, and as I started venturing deeper into the campus, I was met by many enthusiastic students who were all trying to sell me some sort of food or service.

Lining the connector between the entrance to the soccer field were stands run by much younger kids, who sold snacks for much fairer prices than most of the highschoolers and official vendors did. The food was all great, as there were a variety of things offered – from burgers to mini Oreos, guava to instant noodles – if you arrived with an unfulfilled hunger and some money, you were leaving the festival without both.

These guys sold me Cheetos and Mini Oreos.

There was also this cute little photo booth with a viking hat in a boat that plays into the fantasy theme. At this point, it occurred to me that this might be the single most thematically coordinated festival that I’ve ever attended at KAS. There was even this section held in the gym that featured little bow-shooting activities if you wanted to be a warrior of some sort. That same section held sales for second-hand items and toys, and was what I found to be the most popular place for all of the elementary school parents in the entire festival.

There were also performances held throughout right outside the cafeteria. The performances had all of the usual features such as singing, dancing, and MCs wearing pirate costumes, but the real highlights for me where when they had middle schoolers in Labubu costumes come out randomly in between a break to just stand around, and when the fifth graders did a rapping performance for “My Shot” from the play Hamilton.

If for some reason you didn’t want to shoot bows or high-five a Labubu, the highschoolers also held club booths in the parking lot with plenty of food offerings. Special props for the tent and the variety of cold drinks offered to combat the excruciating heat. Amongst the usual offerings, CAC had this booth where they would draw you in any style you wanted them to for 50 NTD, which was a service I did pay for, and was pleasantly surprised by how much it looked like me, but less pleasantly surprised at how bad I looked. They also sold plates and "cheesecake".

This CAC executive claims what is pictured inside the bowl is actually Cheesecake. I can not confirm nor deny this claim.

Next to all of the club booths, the outdoor basketball court held some basketball games where professional Taiwanese players came and joined in on the fun too. Mr. Bailey MC’d the event, and beyond only being there to watch my friends miss easy lay-ups, it was a lot of fun watching people from all age groups go against each other.

Amongst other things, they also had a booth that gave away temporary tattoos (mine is still going strong after a week), an inflatable slide for little kids, a sort of mini camp for American Football in the soccer field, and Film Club’s photobooth where you could spin for a chance to dance with fellow KASPER executive Yuki Shibata.

I left the fall festival not only satisfied, but pleasantly surprised. As someone who is skeptical of how the school spends all of their time, effort, and funds, I’d say going to this event was definitely a good use of mine. KAS’s 2025 Fall Festival was a success in my book, and left a strong enough impression on me to where I would gladly return for another event like this one in the future.