Most Calvin students would not expect to spend their Friday night with goats, but that’s just what many students did at this past week’s Buck Fridays event.

On Oct. 15, Buck Fridays held an event at Post Family Farms, which included a “petting zoo,” where students could pet goats and pigs. This event was Buck Fridays’ sixth event this semester.

For an entrance fee of $1, students could participate in many events in addition to the petting zoo. These events included a hayride, a corn maze, line dancing, a playground and a zip line. For an additional $1, students could have apple cider, donuts and s’mores.

Erik Newhouse was the student staff-member in charge of this particular Buck Fridays event. According to Newhouse, the goal of the event was to “get students off campus and interacting with a cultural tradition unique to West Michigan — the rural farm community.”

Over 600 students attended the event, which was more than the Buck Fridays team expected. Overall, Newhouse said that the event was a success.

“The huge number of participants were spread out between the hayride, corn maze, square dancing and the bonfire, and it was difficult for anyone to want to leave!” Newhouse said. “We expected this would be an enjoyable event, but were honestly blown away by the sheer magnitude of students who came out.”

Corrie VanderBrug, a first-year student living in Noordewier-VanderWerp, was able to attend the event at Post Family Farms and enjoyed the time she spent there.

“It was a lot of fun and we did everything,” VanderBrug said. “The people were really nice; the driver for the hayride let us go back for our friend and then skip the line to get back on the ride.”

VanderBrug said she enjoyed all the activities, the donuts and the cider, but her favorite part of the night was the corn maze. Most of the students who attended the event were freshmen and sophomores. Post Family Farms is 30 minutes away from Calvin College; Buck Fridays did not provide rides to Post Family Farms. A lack of transportation to the farm could be an issue for students living on campus; however, many dorms made transportation arrangements for their students.

Many members of the Post family are alumni of Calvin College, so the family has strong ties with the Calvin community, according to Newhouse. The Post family helped drive the hayride and run the event, along with the Buck Fridays team. VanderBrug commented on the friendliness of the farm workers, saying they were all nice and welcoming to the students.