Willamette Events Board falls into spooky season with Grocery Bingo
- Maya Darski, Staff Writer
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
As Willamette’s trees start to fade red, orange and yellow, campus organizations such as the Willamette Events Board (WEB) get ready for the height of autumn season with activities and events for all students to enjoy.
On Oct. 10, spooky season activities were kicked off by WEB’s “Grocery Bingo” event. In Montag Den, students gathered for a competition of luck, aiming to win fall-themed Trader Joe’s snacks such as caramel popcorn and Ghosts and Bats chips, or a gift card. There were many variations of bingo played: normal bingo, filling in shapes and letters and blackout rounds. Each round filled the room with excited whispers, cheers of victory or groans of disappointment.
“It’s a lot of anticipation and also disappointment,” Olivia Jacobson (’28) commented. She had come to participate with her friend Amelia DeSantis (’27).
“I was invited by my friends to come,” DeSantis said. “I love Trader Joe’s, but in my hometown, we don’t have a Trader Joe’s, so I really like going to the one here in Salem. So this event is super fun.”
Grocery Bingo has been hosted by WEB once before, during spring semester of 2025. Vice President of WEB Eclipse Albert (’26) explained that before bingo, WEB had done trivia games.
“Trivia has the barrier of needing knowledge surrounding certain topics to be able to fully participate and have fun,” Albert explained. “We wanted to do something that had a similar vibe but would be easier for people to participate in.”
Bingo is purely based on luck, and most importantly to Albert, everyone can have fun and be silly along with friends.
WEB also sought to serve a practical purpose through the event. “We’re giving away food and money for food, which is important for college students since a lot of us are financially struggling in some way,” Albert said. “And even if you don’t win, you still have to do something fun.”
WEB and other orgs have been busy putting on other fall events. On Oct. 25, WEB hosted its annual Murder Mystery event. According to Albert, sign-ups filled up in around two days. On the same day, Residence Hall Association’s Kaneko Karnival event was also held with lots of activities such as pumpkin painting and games.
The turnout for Grocery Bingo for both this and last semester was around 50 people. Albert believes that the event’s popularity and success means WEB will likely continue it next semester. In regards to the future of Grocery Bingo, Albert noted that for the 2026-27 school year, there will be a big team transition as senior members graduate, so the event’s future is largely dependent on the new team.