The first Landing After Dark (LAD) of the 2025 fall semester kicked off on Nov. 1, the Saturday after Halloween, at The Landing Market. This LAD comes only one semester after a previous event resulted in property damage to the venue, and almost ceased the continuation indefinitely. However, Luther students were granted a second chance this year, and were invited back to the venue from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a night of dancing and socializing. LAD planners and student volunteers made an extra effort to ensure safety and responsible partying from all Luther students in attendance.
The LAD was first established by Julia Moreno (‘26) as an Ad Hoc, or Luther-centered service project, with Student Senate. Her goal was to create a safe space for Luther students to gather together off campus. In the search for a venue, Moreno turned to Pete Espinosa (‘81), owner of The Landing Market, who agreed to host the event. As a means to help implement, staff and maintain the LAD, Moreno proposed the idea to the Inter Greek Council (IGC), who now volunteer their time to make the event possible for students.
Since the first Landing After Dark in November 2024, there were four additional parties last year. Each LAD asks for a $5 entry fee, with funds going towards Greek Life. Members of Luther’s sororities Alpha Beta Psi (ABY), Tau Delta Gamma (TDG) and the fraternity Tri Omega (Tri-O) attend the event to make sure students are safe.
“Pete Espinosa has been nothing short of amazing,” said Stevie Herrera (‘26), the president of IGC and TDG. “He is so willing to work with us to help make sure we can run The Landing After Dark as safely and smoothly as possible. Pete is always willing to listen to our ideas, suggestions and concerns, and helps brainstorm ideas on how to go about things. His number one goal is, just like ours, to have a fun and safe place for Luther College students to be able to just enjoy.”
This year was no exception. With the highly anticipated LAD held over “Halloweekend,” the IGC made efforts to ensure student safety and property discretion throughout the night. Matthew Franzen (‘24), the Assistant Director of Student Activities & Leadership Development, worked with IGC to find solutions to these matters.
“One of the biggest challenges that continues to come up in feedback is students disrespecting the space and the people working the event,” Franzen said. “It’s tough when 95% of attendees do their part, but the remaining 5% can significantly impact the experience for others.”
Espinosa allowed the continuation of the event, but not before IGC posted an announcement outlining the reminders and expectations to respect the space, student volunteers and each other on their Instagram. The post, written by Moreno, acted as a letter to the student body after the cancellation of a LAD in April 2025 due to over $1,500 of damages to The Landing Market from the LAD event in March.
Moreno opened the letter writing, “Individual action matters, especially in a small college. Your actions carry greater weight, it affects others even more. Do not be one of the few ruining something good for so many. We’ve already proven we can party responsibly.”
The 2025-26 academic year provided a fresh start for Moreno, IGC and Luther students to abide by these guidelines. To thoroughly ensure that the space would be respected and that student party goers and Greek Life volunteers could safely party, IGC held a meeting with Espinosa and Franzen.
“Before the first LAD, we held a safety and organizational meeting to outline roles and review all safety protocols,” said Franzen. “IGC also brought forward several concerns from last spring, and we worked through each one as thoroughly as possible. It’s clear that Mr. Espinosa truly cares about our students and is committed to providing a space where they can have fun safely, which is what makes The Landing such an ideal venue.”
Maddux Shockey (‘27), president of Tri-O said, “The important thing that made [IGC] want to do The Landing [After Dark] again was that we think it’s so healthy for the students to have a place to go that is not on campus, and where they can just exist. So even though there were damages and challenges in the past, we really wanted to try again and give the students a new opportunity.”
The Landing After Dark remains one of the only off campus locations exclusively for Luther students to party. While alcohol is permitted, IGC ensures that only those of legal drinking age are permitted to drink and bans outside beverages from entering the venue. Aside from this, The Landing is transformed with lights and dance music from student DJs, allowing Luther students to enjoy their evening in a safe environment.
“We are very thankful to [Espinosa] that he is able to help put this on and give us space off of Luther’s campus so that students don’t have a sense [that] they’re always going to get caught, or there’s always someone watching them,” said Annika Welter (‘26), Vice President of Tau Delta Gamma. “It’s a nice space that people who are under 21 are able to go to and just spend the weekend out, have fun, dance [and] listen to music.”
During the day, The Landing Market serves as Decorah’s “modern food court,” a place for the greater Decorah community to gather for a quick bite or long visit. After dark, Luther students can find a space carved out just for them, a different sort of gathering but no less of a community.
The next Landing After Dark will be held on Dec.12 with the theme Winter Wonderland from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. The $5 entrance fee supports Greek Life events and philanthropy.