Staff Fest 2025

Staff Fest is an annual recognition event to say thank you to Emory University staff members for their hard work throughout the academic year. It occurs on the Friday after Commencement.

staff fest people dancing and playing volleyball with logo in center

Staff Fest 2025

Friday, May 16, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm, on the Quad

We are excited to announce the 47th annual Staff Fest celebration will be held on Friday, May 16, 2025!

Put it on your calendar and make plans to attend.

All University staff, faculty, and retirees are invited. We are unable to accommodate family members or non-University employees.

Staff Fest 2025 will include:

  • Food (see below)
  • DJ, music, and dancing
  • Volleyball tournament (see below)
  • Field games on the quad (relay races, etc.) lead by the Health and Well-being Team
  • Other games and activities

2025 Theme

For those of you who voted on the 2025 theme, the winner was Carnival. However, due to budget constraints this year, we are not able to offer a full themed event. We will hold this theme for a future Staff Fest.

In slimming the budget, we are also not able to offer:

  • T-shirts (we encourage you to wear a shirt from a previous year or any Emory shirt)
  • Fun Run/Walk
  • Caricatures
  • Roaming Photograper
  • Rock Wall

Food

Staff Fest provides a free lunch catered by Williamson, Bros. BBQ. Serving starts at 11:30 and will be served while quantities last.

Menu:

  • Chopped chicken
  • Pulled pork
  • Black bean burger
  • Baked beans (no pork)
  • Cole slaw
  • Potato salad
  • Assorted gourmet cookies (oatmeal raisin, chocolate chunk, white chunk macadamia, mini candy cookies)

Drinks: Variety of Coke products, donated by Coca-Cola.

There will also be ice cream and popcorn throughout the Quad.

Bring Your Own Refillable Water Bottle

Staff Fest partners with the Emory Office of Sustainability Initiatives to make this event as sustainable as possible.

All attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their own water bottle to this event to limit the number of plastic water bottles distributed.

We will also have maps of refill stations on the Quad.

volleyball on the quad

Volleyball Tournament

Can your team take home the trophy? Put together your team, select a captain and register for the Volleyball Tournament!

The tournament can accommodate 16 teams on two courts. Limit of 10 players per team. Deadline to register is May 2. 

  • Location: On the Quad 
  • Time: Refereed games will occur between 11:00 am-2:00 pm 
  • Only team captains should sign up for their team. One registration per team with a max of 10 players per team
  • Questions? Contact healthemory@emory.edu

Register for Volleyball

Thank you!

Human Resources would like to extend a big thank you to all our campus partners who are helping us make Staff Fest happen this year:

  • Healthy Emory
  • Blomeyer Health Fitness Center
  • Campus Services
  • Transportation and Parking
  • Emory Police Department
  • Office of Sustainability
  • Staff Council
  • Communications and Marketing
  • Advancement & Alumni Engagement

Thank you to our corporate sponsor, Coca Cola, for providing drinks and a special shout out to all our volunteers! We couldn't do it without you!