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������ʷ’s campus transformed into a lively fairgrounds Saturday, as Biolafest brought thousands of visitors to reminisce, chow down and listen to live music from some of the nation’s top Christian artists.

The festival – one of several major events scheduled this year to celebrate the University’s centennial year, and the last event of Biola’s presidential inauguration weekend – offered an old-fashioned barbecue, carnival-style games, and performances by the likes of MercyMe and Aaron Shust.

Activities abounded throughout the campus, which was decorated with bales of hay, sunflowers and brightly colored balloons to give it an old-fashioned, country feel.

Near Biola’s iconic Bell Tower, students from the Student Missionary Union offered face painting and sold cotton candy, popcorn and balloon animals to raise money for mission trips.

At a booth sponsored by a team of students heading to Romania, junior Jeff Blied took repeated pies in the face – raising $2 with each messy hit.

“You want to close your eyes, but at the same time, you want to see it coming,” Blied said, vanilla pudding dripping from his nose. “When it finally hits you in the face, the splatter feels good, knowing that it’s for a good cause.”

On a walkway in front of the library, visitors strolled through an “Alumni Decades Walk,” offering a look back through Biola’s past. Booths representing each decade allowed visitors to browse through yearbooks and memorabilia, check out old fashions, and look at maps detailing the evolution of Biola’s campus.

Alumnae Barbara Wulf (’58) and Betty Rose (’57) shared fond memories at the 50s booth, where they posed for a Polaroid with longtime chaplain and Biola celebrity Ron Hafer.

“It’s been wonderful watching Biola grow,” said Rose, a member of one of the last classes to graduate on the University’s downtown Los Angeles campus. “God’s hand is good.”

Though admission was free, attendees were encouraged to donate a new pair of shoes for Biola’s “Steps From Hope” shoe drive. By day’s end, the event had brought in an estimated 200 pairs of shoes, which will in turn be given to the Union Rescue Mission for distribution to needy families on April 5th when Biola hosts a block party with the URM as a way to serve the city in our centennial year.