Vintage Days to celebrate its wild side
By KIMBERLINA ROCHA
During the spring semester, one of the most anticipated events at Fresno State — aside from spring break — is Vintage Days.
The annual event features a colorful array of arts and crafts, good food and carnival games. Vintage Days will take place from Thursday to Sunday at various locations on campus. This year’s theme is “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Student director Benito Cardenas and the Vintage Days committee plan on having events that go along with the theme. One of them will be a mechanical bull in the lounge of the University Student Union for Casino Night on Thursday. Games like poker, black jack and roulette will also be available.
Most activities will be free to students, like salsa dance instruction by the Fresno State Salsa Club.
Lessons will be in the Peters Building in Rooms 11,12 and 13 from 7 to 8 p.m. on Friday. There will be a $10 charge for the general public.
Meng Song, an officer of the Salsa Club, recommends that students arrive as early as 6:30 p.m. to make sure they’re divided correctly by experience.
“Salsa is the biggest thing out there right now,” Song said. “It allows others to learn more about the Hispanic culture while having fun.”
Last year, more than 400 people showed up for Salsa Night. Song expects more than 600 to show up this year.
There will be open floor dancing along with live salsa band Orquesta Bakan, from 8 p.m. to midnight in the Satellite Student Union.
Don’t like gambling or dancing?
Then head out to the Boomtown Carnival and Crafts Faire, taking place on the lawn in front of the SSU from Friday to closing day on Sunday. The Boomtown Carnival has food and game booths sponsored by student organizations. Cardenas said there will be a wide variety of food ranging from barbecue to pasta.
“There’s a lot of different food offered this year,” said Cardenas, a senior majoring in political science. “So if you’re hungry, come on out.”
Sigma Alpha Zeta will be serving the Hispanic specialty cevicheh, seafood marinated in lemon juice, inside its booth, which will be decorated in a zebra print to coordinate with the wild theme.
“Everything was taken from pizza to hot dogs,” said Eunice Rosas, vice president of Sigma Alpha Zeta.
“We wanted to have something different that was fresh and easy to do.”
The Cambodian Collegiate Association will be selling orange chicken, fried rice and egg rolls.
President Chantha Sor said Vintage Days is the biggest fundraising event of the year.
“Vintage Days is a great opportunity to fundraise on the campus and promote our organization,” Sor said.
Vintage Days attracts more than 70,000 people from the community each year. Cardenas hopes to exceed that number this year for the event’s 30th anniversary, provided the weather cooperates.
“Last year, there were a lot of rain scares,” he said. “I’m hoping that won’t be the case this year.”
Vintage Days was started in 1975 by a committee of students to celebrate the harvesting of the vineyards.
Since its beginning, Vintage Days has progressed to a family-centered event filled with food, music and entertainment in a carnival-like atmosphere.
Kid’s Zone offers free arts and crafts, pony rides, a petting zoo and bounce houses.
One of the biggest and most widely publicized musical events is Battle of the Bands on Saturday. Bands from the Central Valley compete center stage to be crowned kings of the Valley.
Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for non-students at the door.
Bands Serious Victoria, Same Shape and Cold Fusion, among others, will also perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on the Concert Stage, located north of the Music building.
Cardenas said being the student director on the Vintage Days committee has been a strenuous process.
There were several bumps in the road at first, but now everything seems to be on the right track, he said.
“It’s fun, but at the same time it’s a lot of work,” he said. “At the same time, you got to make your event good and better than the year before. It’s more than you expect.”
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