Upon arriving back on campus for the spring semester, students find club tables piled high with free swag, club leaders filled to the brim with information and an overwhelming array of new opportunities to become involved in.

On Jan. 25, members of UVM’s approximately 110 event registered clubs, organizations and departments will gather in the Davis Center to recruit new members, explain their clubs, and promote their organizations to the student body.

The fair will host clubs in a range of interests, from the Ski and Snowboard and Outing Clubs to the Quidditch and Climbing teams.

It can be difficult to tackle such an enormous array of clubs, but “groups with giveaways and eye catching displays always get a lot of attention,” event organizer Katherine Stango said. Keep your eye out for those free pins and stickers.

Unlike the Activities Fest in the fall, this community-building event is not open to non-UVM groups due to limited space, according to the University’s website. The sheer depth and breadth of the kick-off Activities Fest means that “students are more likely to join a club in the fall,” Nichol Brown, club affairs committee chair, said.

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, not to worry, the Winter Involvement Fair will be running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so there’s plenty of time to meander through the tables, stopping to talk with representative members.

“The start of the spring semester is a great time for students to re-assess their interests,” Stango said. Not to mention the host of students who will be joining the UVM community for the first time this spring.

“Coming in second semester, I’m a little worried everyone will have already clustered into close friend groups and I’ll feel like I missed the bus,” first-year Ryan Parker, who will begin his first semester this spring, said. Yet, he feels confident about the new opportunities and looks forward to his time at the University.

If nothing you see immediately interests you, there’s good news: about 15 new clubs are formed every year, and with motivation and a group of like-minded people at hand, it’s a simple process to turn an idea into an organization.

“I’m excited to see what spring brings,” first-year Sarah Howe said.