Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Fall Festival at Villanova University is a three-day competition hosted and organized by Villanova University students and is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world.

Fall Festival brings together more than 1,200 athletes and coaches. Competition in bocce, flag football, long distance running/walking, powerlifting, soccer, and volleyball highlight the weekend. Weeks of hard work and dedication in training is rewarded as athletes are cheered on and supported during competition by more than 3,000 enthusiastic volunteers.

For even more information, visit Villanova Special Olympics' website here!

To register as a volunteer:

• Click Here to visit our Online Portal, where you can register as a volunteer. After answering a few questions, you’ll be taken to your Volunteer Zone.

• Click on “Event Signup” to register for the job of your choice at Fall Festival!

Looking to register a group for an event? Click on the “Do More with Special Olympics” button to sign up to be a group lead, where you’ll have the ability to manage and register your group for an upcoming volunteer opportunity.

If you have any questions about volunteering or how to sign up, please reach out to us at volunteer@specialolympicspa.org.

Follow this link to find a detailed schedule of Fall Fest events and/or download our Fall Festival app for up-to-the-minute scheduling information and much more!

The Unified Fall Festival Torch Run for Special Olympics Pennsylvania is a segmented non-competitive run (approx. 26 miles in total) with 19 segments ranging from a ½ mile to 3 ½ miles.

On Friday, November 1, 2024 the Unified Fall Festival Torch Run will kick off at XFINITY Live! Philadelphia before weaving its way throughout South and Downtown Philadelphia and into University City/West Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Art Museum. After traversing nearly 13 miles of the city, the run heads West via MLK Boulevard/West River Drive into Bala Cynwyd and through the heart of the Main Line to Villanova.

All proceeds benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania and the largest student run Special Olympics event in the world, the annual Fall Festival at Villanova University.

Learn more about how to get involved by following this link.

You can find a Villanova Campus Map here.