Handmade clothing, specially crafted jewelry, and a bevy of food and music will once again sweep the University of Oregon campus for the bi-annual ASUO Street Faire.
Per tradition, the fair will take place in the heart of campus between Kincaid and University streets on 13th Avenue May 8 through May 11.
The fair invites students, faculty and the surrounding Eugene community to come and enjoy what the local community has to offer.
“The event has been done for a while. It is a time that brings people together to help our community out, and for everyone to have a good time on campus,” said ASUO member Lainie Vinikoor. “The event will increase the number of students and their interactions on campus.”
The ASUO Street Faire is a cohesive event where artisans, vendors, nonprofit organizations and student programs join together to sell their handmade goods. From chocolate covered bananas, to animal T-shirts, the ASUO spring Street Faire has got it all.
“The kids are so great,” said Mike Walker of Aloha Grill. ”They are so polite and it is awesome to be around them and feed them.”
Walker and his daughters will be returning this year to share their restaurants food for the fourth year in a row. “There is always a new group of students and it’s always a really good time. It’s really just a blast.”
During the fall fair there were several security problems as well as a lack of bike racks. Many of the bike racks that students use for classes and UO parking were removed to make enough space to accommodate for all the vendors in the market. This caused problems because of the lack of accessibility to bike riders. These inconveniences have been adjusted, providing more bike racks and the ASUO is continuing to improve the overall satisfaction of not only fair goers, but to surrounding students and faculty on campus.
Now, the spring Street Faire will continue to be one of the most popular spring events on campus, even more popular than the fair in the fall.
“I took my high school-aged sister last year and we bought animal T-shirts. We call them our street faire swag,” said Mackenzie Mansfield, UO undergraduate and residential assistant. “My favorite thing is the chocolate dipped bananas. As many would say, “There is always money in the banana stand.”