Saturday’s Fall Fest attracted 4,400 students, besting last year’s attendance by nearly 2,000.

A rise in attendance was a pleasant surprise for organizers, who were forced to hold the event earlier than usual this year to avoid hosting it on Sept. 11 or the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, which fall on the next two Saturdays. Another change was Fall Fest’s 5 p.m. start time; Program Board organizers decided to hold the event later in the day to attract more people.

“The evening atmosphere retained a lot more people than last year,” said Tim Miller, director of the Student Activities Center. “You can’t drive by a car accident without looking,” he added, referring to the thousands of students who lounged in University Yard.

PB Executive Chair Eric Wiegand said he was expecting around 3,500 students to attend. He was pleased when, at 6 p.m., the event had already drawn about 2,200 people to University Yard, the total number of students who attended last year’s Fall Fest. Last fall, inclement weather forced organizers to move the event to the Smith Center.

The Pat McGee band headlined Saturday’s festivities. Singer Matt Nathanson and the GW band Last Week also played during the event.

Planning for Fall Fest began in May and continued throughout the summer. PB concert chair Aimee Schulman said the bands were officially booked in early August.

Besides booking the bands, event organizers had to obtain permission from Law School interim Dean Roger Transgrud to hold an event in front of the school’s library.

The event’s relaxed “unlike the rest” theme featured giveaways, a climbing wall, human gyroscopes and the game “Dance Dance Revolution,” which was frequented by students throughout the night.

“We wanted a chiller atmosphere,” Schulman said.

The climbing wall, a new addition to Fall Fest, was popular among attendees.

Students were drawn to Fall Fest by flyers posted around campus.

“I’m here for the music; especially Pat Mcgee Band, great food and great times,” freshman Jake Greenberg said.

“To be honest, it was the best live concert of (the Pat McGee Band) I’ve ever seen,” freshman Liz Chase said.

Students agree that University Yard had great sound and was a good location for the event.

“Last Week and Matt Nathanson were both awesome surprises,” freshman Morgan Mindell said.

“Fall Fest was actually pretty insane. It was basically a free concert with good music and food,” Mindell added. “Just in case that wasn’t enough, there were games and clubs all around. I can’t wait for Spring Fling 05′.”