by NIKKI ROBERTI
Lifestyles Reporter

“When you look at fairy tales, they are either princesses or damsels in distress. The Disney version is not what we’re going for,” Christine N. Mook, junior English major said.

Mook is the chairperson for the annual Abigail Adams Scholarship Event sponsored by the Women’s Center.

This year’s theme is Forgotten Fairytales.

The Abigail Adams Scholarship Event and the Women’s Center is working to make sure non-traditional female students do not go forgotten.

The event, hosted at the Appalachian Panhellenic Hall, will take place tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Raffle tickets are $4 in advance and $5 at the door, and includes a home cooked buffet meal as well as a chance to win prizes.

All money raised by the event goes towards a scholarship for a non-traditional female student later chosen by the university.

 “Everyone deserves a chance, especially when it comes to an education,” Mook said. “When a student leaves and comes back, or has a kid, or is 25 to 30 years old, it’s very hard financially. You just aren’t prime scholarship material anymore.”

The event started in 1998 by Lee Williams, the Women’s Center’s first faculty advisor, Natasha F. Wayne, senior English major said.

Wayne served as the event committee chair for the past three years.

Williams really admired Abigail Adams for the work she did for women’s rights as early as 1776 and named the event in her honor.

This will be the 11th Abigail Adams event at Appalachian.

“It’s the only event that we do religiously every year,” Wayne said.

Last year the event raised approximately $550.

Mook said she hopes to have another amazing turnout for the event, and the goal is to attract 150 to 200 people.

The event is not a sit down dinner, and students, faculty and community members can come and go as they please throughout the night.

The home cooked buffet is made and donated by both students and faculty members.

“The reason [for home cooked food] initially was to bring faculty and students together in an atmosphere outside of campus and the classroom structure,” Wayne said. “Home cooked meals are more personal. There’s a more personal touch to it than having it catered.”

Wayne is cooking two lasagnas, a meat and vegetarian one, herself.

She said the event usually has any kind of food you could think of from cookies and cakes to turkeys and roasts.

A lot of planning goes into the event, Wayne and Mook said. The Women’s Center starts as early as September.

All the decorations are handmade to ensure all of the money goes towards the actual scholarship. 

There will be a 5-foot tall cardboard castle constructed this year by a volunteer who is skilled in theatrical scene design, Mook said.

This year, the centerpieces are each dedicated to forgotten fairy tales with information and facts about each story.

Mook said the theme focuses on stories that centrally have strong women characters. However, they are not trying to discount the happy princess fairytales either.

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