The Wabash Arts Corridor Crawl returned for its fourth year Sept. 19 through a collaboration of staff, faculty and students. As in past  years, neighboring South Loop businesses and colleges have also embraced the art festival.

The festival featured 12 galleries and more than 200 artists representing various mediums, including art, performance, dance and theatre. The crawl took place along South Wabash Avenue between Van Buren Street and Roosevelt Road within the South Loop.

Artists, performers and curators alike displayed work throughout the area as passersby enjoyed the festivities in and outside of Columbia’s buildings. A trolley also transported attendees from event to event.

Vice President of Student Success Mark Kelly said he was enthused about attendance this year, saying it doubled from 300 attendees to 600 this year. Of the students and parents he asked, Kelly said participants almost unanimously said this year’s event and atmosphere exceeded their expectations by far.

“The idea is that we are embedded into the city and learning is not relegated just to a classroom, but something you do all the time at Columbia,” Kelly said. “Whether it’s students chalking the sidewalk, performing on stage or gallery shows, the buzz of Columbia becomes palpable for students.”

This is also the first year where Columbia’s “Parents Weekend” and WAC Crawl took place simultaneously, Kelly said. As a result, the crawl saw considerable momentum, and with a bill of 60 events to participate in during the festival, the weekend has much more impact on the South Loop, he added.

“[Parents] came before as a consumer but now they are us; they’re part of our community,” Kelly said. “I am encouraging them to go out into this weekend and connect to the campus and city. Don’t be the parent—be another student.”

Alex Klein, a freshman cinema arts + science major, was accompanied by his parents Eileen and Mitchell as he navigated the festival. They said they were all excited about having the opportunity to be part of the events offered and that after being at the crawl, they were more comfortable with where their son would be getting his education.

“We got a text from him in the morning and it said, I literally picked the best school,” Eileen Klein said. “That said everything.”

Similarly, freshman business & entrepreneurship Dimitri Moore said the atmosphere provided by Columbia and the WAC Crawl was a great event. As a Maryland native who just moved to Chicago, the environment has allowed him to find a deeper connection with the city, he said.

“As a musician, it’s like the perfect environment,” Moore said. “I’ve only been here a couple of weeks but I’m getting to get the whole Chicago experience.”

Nicholas Alexandroff, a freshman business & entrepreneurship major and guitarist for the garage band Ota Benga said the opportunity for his band to be apart of WAC Crawl is unmatched.

Alexandroff and his band were asked to play a set in the “Emerge Artists Showcase” hosted by the Student Programming Board during the WAC Crawl after landing a spot at Columbia’s first Big Mouth show of the semester.

“Big Mouth was really us entering into the Columbia music scene, but this was more of us establishing ourselves into the music scene a little more of who we are,” Alexandroff said.

Columbia is looking to continue supporting art and entrepreneurship from students and encouraging those same focuses within the South Loop with events like the WAC Crawl, which gives students a platform to showcase their art, according to Kelly.

Deavondre Jones, senior business & entrepreneurship major, is doing just that through hosting and performing in the “More Than an Artist” showcase during the WAC Crawl, an event based on the principles of a business he founded prior to attending Columbia called “DanceSpire.” WAC Crawl allows students from various educational disciplines and places to band together and create, Jones said.

“Even a freshman is performing in my piece and I do it strictly like that to build community,” Jones said. “I want eight to nine people who didn’t know each other before, to know each other now and say, we put on an event together. And hopefully it’ll lead into something new next time.”