The University of North Alabama will be ringing in the springtime season on Mar. 14 with the annual “Light The Fountain” ceremony at Harrison Plaza. The event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. and will feature a wide array of food, games, entertainment and more.

In addition to the ceremonial aspect of restarting the Harrison Fountain, the night will include free walking tacos provided by on-campus dining vendor, Chartwells, in addition to paid food options from food truck vendors. The list of food truck options includes popular Florence options such as Flashy Funnel Cakes, SMASHED Burgers and several others.

The assortment of dining options will not be the only thing students can expect at the event. The night will also include a live music set performed by a DJ, in addition to lawn games on the front lawn of the President’s home and a t-shirt giveaway organized by the University Program Council to the first 1000 students in attendance. Several other giveaways will be held as the night goes on. Leading up to the fountain ceremony, Listerhill Credit Union will deliver a presentation, followed by various scholarship and gift card giveaways from both the Student Government Association and the University itself.

Before the fountain is restarted, the UNA Dance and Cheer teams will hold a pep rally just before the fountain is reactivated. The fountain-restarting ceremony itself will take place as Joel Anderson, Co-Chariman of the “Shine On, Gold” fundraising campaign, will flip the switch to bring Harrison Fountain back to life, along with a display of lights, a firework show and more music. The event organizers expect the festivities to continue after the switch-flipping ceremony until 9 p.m.

UNA Assistant Vice President Dr. Tammy Jacques, one of the lead organizers of Light The Fountain, remarked on the importance of community events like this one in their role of bringing students together and building unity. “It gives students a sense of belonging,” said Dr. Jacques. “It is our time as a unified community to come together, celebrate and have fun with one another.” 

Dr. Jacques also mentioned the widespread involvement of many university organizations with the event itself. She listed several student organizations such as the University Program Council and Student Government Association, in addition to official University groups such as UNA Police Department, UNA Facilities, UNA Alumni and more.

The yearly tradition began in 2016 and was the brainchild of President Ken Kitts. In his first year at the university in 2015, he saw that the fountain, which lies dormant during the cold winter months, had been restarted in the middle of the night. His wife, First Lady Dena Kitts, agreed, saying, “This has become such a campus identity for our students.” She states that the ceremony represents an important celebration of how students push through the often dark and dreary winter months in order to reach the vibrant Alabama springtime.

President Kitts, himself, also noted the value of having such a distinctive celebration, saying, “It’s unique to UNA. No other campus in the south–no other campus in the United States–has Light The Fountain. This is all ours.”