Photo by Miranda Pederson/Daily News Amy Brumlow (right), a chiropractor from Body Works Chiropractic, performs a trigger point screening on Western Kentucky University freshman Tonni McKinney on Wednesday at Welcome Back Western on the South Lawn.

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Western Kentucky University’s South Lawn buzzed with activity from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday as it hosted the annual Welcome Back WKU Festival.

A partnership between Western and the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, the festival gives local businesses an opportunity to introduce themselves to students, said Rachel Manning, assistant director of campus and community events at WKU. Manning said the event is also good for students, especially those who aren’t from around Bowling Green.

“This is cool,” said freshman elementary education major Jaclyn Moehlmann, 18, of Oldham County. “You get a lot of free stuff and you get involved, too.”

From Sam’s Club touting its new collegiate membership program to Big Brothers Big Sisters recruiting volunteers, about 54 local businesses and organizations were busy answering students’ questions and giving information about their services.

“A lot of our volunteers come from Western,” said Robin Pemberton, special events director for Big Brothers Big Sisters. “We’ve had several stop by. It’s been steady.”

Donna Wills of Bluegrass Cellular said a lot of the students use the company’s service, so participating in the festival is a way to give back.

“We’ve done this every year,” Wills said. “We reach a lot of the students.”

The organizations and businesses appealed to many of the students, who walked around with bags filled with coupons and information from various tents.

Jennifer Johnson of Citizens First Bank said the festival is helpful to students because it lets them know what’s in the community. Bank employee Angela Stockton said they were there to make students aware of the accounts they offer and where they’re located.

Their presence, along with the other banks, on the South Lawn appealed to Moehlmann, who said she was looking to switch banks. She said she was also looking at some churches, too.

In addition to free food and music, many of the businesses had free items touting their business and chances for students to win items such as gift cards and free haircuts.

“This is a good idea ... and it’s definitely helpful,” said junior paramedicine major Teena Vickers, 20, of Bowling Green, who said this was the first year she was able to attend. “I’ve lived here for several years and I’ve found different businesses I didn’t even know about.”

Manning said the festival has been happening for more than 10 years. She said usually they can judge how well the festival goes by the number of boxes of giveaways the businesses take back. This year, there was nothing but empty boxes, she said.

“It was a perfect day for the festival,” Manning said. “We had a massive amount of students on the lawn and (businesses) had tons of opportunities to talk to the students. It was great.”