UVA graduation, or what’s known as Final Exercises, is a grand affair any way you measure it. Whether you count the 5,900 degrees awarded in May or the estimated 45,000 friends and relatives who come to witness their conferment, Charlottesville is packed to the brim every year for this 178-year-old tradition. The only thing more impressive than the number of graduates and the visitors who descend upon Grounds might be the number of cookies it takes to try and keep them fed. After all, a hot spring day can make any Wahoo hungry. Here are some of the advanced preparations UVA Catering made for this year’s ceremonies.
 UVA Catering has many more jobs on its plate than Final Exercises. The young and the older in groups big and small are showered with service, not to mention tons of food and drink. |
Number of “petite gourmet” cookies prepared: 17,000
Number of “bakeshop” cookies prepared: 4,000
Gallons of lemonade: 400
Gallons of iced tea: 2,000
Bottles of water: 4,000
Pounds of golden pineapple: 400
Pounds of cantaloupe: 400
Pounds of honeydew: 400
Pounds of strawberries: 400
Source: UVA Department of Media Relations
