ISU students will have the opportunity to choose from more than 800 clubs where they can gain work experience, take part in a new hobby or try something new at the annual gathering of Iowa State’s clubs.

ClubFest, as the event is known, will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 3 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

Many new students have questions about what all a club does and how much time is involved.

Allyson Sedore, senior in event management and recruitment chairwoman for the Event Management Club, encourages students to get involved with a club during their time at Iowa State.

“Definitely get involved,” Sedore said. “You meet so many people and you feel so much closer to the community and campus. Coming in as freshmen, it can be kind of scary because you’re in a new place. Even me as a transfer student, [getting involved] is how I got to know the university better.”

This will be Sedore’s first ClubFest with Iowa State; she transferred in as a junior last year. The Event Management Club is hoping to grow by at least 50 people by attending ClubFest. Throughout the school year, the club has speakers come present to the club and sometimes the club will take field trips to Des Moines and surrounding areas.

“The club members are mostly people who major in event or hospitality management,” Sedore said. “We’re hoping to see more diversity this year. It looks really great on resumes because it shows you can work with people and you can volunteer in so many ways. There are a ton of scholarships you can apply for.”

Sedore said that one of the reasons students may drop out of clubs in the first couple of weeks is because of the club fees. The Event Management Club costs $50 for the year.

Jeremy Dubansky, senior in software engineering and president of the Skydiving Club, agreed. He also said that another issue is the cost of advertising for the club.

“We don’t really spend a lot of money advertising the club because of how expensive it is to [skydive],” Dubansky said. “So ClubFest is just a huge door opener for a lot of people.”

Dubansky says something that repels people from joining the club is that the club doesn’t push certain majors to join.

“Most clubs are college-orientated. Not a lot of people know about the smaller clubs like us.”

During the school year, the Skydiving Club tries to go on at least five different jumps, most of which take place in Boone. The club also goes over safety procedures and safety gear for skydiving.

“Believe it or not, it’s actually very calming [to skydive]. It’s actually very peaceful,” Dubansky said. “It’s loud because of the wind, but if you can get rid of that, it’s very peaceful. There’s really no stomach drop. If you were to go bungee jumping from a fixed point, you accelerate down. When we leave the aircraft, it’s already moving, so we’re just transferring the movement back down.”

Before the clubs can join ClubFest, they have to go through authorization with the event authorization committee.

Bob Currie, director for Facilities Services and a member of the committee, makes sure that the events on campus are managed and handled with no time or dangerous conflicts.

“An event has certain needs like trash cans or recycling, power needs or the event is bringing a tent on campus,” Currie said. “We help them determine what the best location would be to avoid putting a stake through a waterline or other underground utility.”

The committee also decides what is safe and reasonable for an event on campus.

“We’ve had a little bit of everything: from bringing farm animals on campus to a cantaloupe catapult. With 30 to 40 events on campus every month, management can be difficult.”

Currie strongly suggests that students get involved with clubs at ClubFest.

“People need to get involved. It shows potential employment that you have the skills and experience to be capable of doing the job.”