It’s not your average college town cuisine.
For the more than 200 EMU students participating in the university’s fourth annual Royals Go Downtown presented by Everence on Thursday, the foods available to try ranged from sweet sips (mango lassi from Taj of India), savory snacks (dumplings from Mashita), and the wacky and wonderful (pickles on a stick from Sage Bird Ciderworks).
That’s not to mention the dozen other mouthwatering dishes students could sample from downtown Harrisonburg restaurants, businesses, and organizations including Magpie Diner, Aristocat Cafe + Tea House, Court Square Theater (serving their own popcorn), Broad Porch Coffee Co., Rockingham County Circuit Court and Clerk’s office (handing out gavel-shaped pencils), Billy Jack’s Wing & Draft Shack, Texas Inn, Shirley’s Gourmet Popcorn, OASIS Fine Art & Craft (giving away lollipops), Klines Dairy Bar, and Benny Sorrentino’s.
Royals Go Downtown introduces EMU students to the restaurants and other businesses that make the Friendly City so special. Students gathered, by the busload, at alumna-owned Magpie Diner to begin their cross-town culinary crawl, where they were greeted by Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus. “This is a time where we get to be community together,” Dycus told students. “We are in downtown Harrisonburg because this is home for us.”
Groups of students strolled through the heart of Harrisonburg along a guided walking route, led by faculty, staff, and student volunteers. They stopped at partner locations before coming together at Turner Pavilion for a dance party, hosted by DJ Adam Wirdzek (also known as EBRO), web content and strategy manager for EMU marketing and communications, and Mayor Deanna Reed, director of alumni engagement and community connections at EMU, who offered students a warm welcome to Harrisonburg.
“It’s like my favorite event of the year,” EMU senior Lauren Kauffman, of Goshen, Indiana, told the Daily News-Record (read the article here) about Royals Go Downtown. “There’s all kinds of good food. Good food, fun, and friends.”
Another student, first-year Eli Monroe of Poquoson, Virginia, told the paper, “It was absolutely phenomenal. I got some free things, I got a nice water bottle out of it, and I got to hang out with my best buds.”
Joni Wiederman, a first-year nursing major from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, attended the food tour with her field hockey teammates and said it was her first time experiencing downtown Harrisonburg. “I like how friendly everyone was,” she said. “It was pretty welcoming.”
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the event a resounding success, including the planning committee (Amy Springer Hartsell, Atma Khalsa, Deanna Reed and Sara Wittig), 15 participating downtown businesses, Mayor Reed, 23 faculty and staff volunteers, seven student volunteers, our mascot Herm, various EMU offices and departments (Athletics, Student Life, Facilities Management, Pioneer College Caterers) and our businesses who sponsored this event.
These business partners include:
- Presenting Sponsor: Everence
- Court Square Champ Sponsors: CT Assist, LD&B Insurance Services, Matchbox Realty, Rockingham County Circuit Court and Clerk’s Office, The Mark-It, Friendly City Food Co-op, and Kline’s Ice Cream.
We will soon begin planning for next year’s Royals Go Downtown event. Please let us know if you have any feedback from this year or suggestions for next!
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