On Saturday May 2nd, the Northwest Spring Fest hosted by Oregon State University Program Council (OSUPC) joined the countless events hosted during spring parents and supporters weekend.
Lining the brick mall and Student Experience Center plaza where stands run by local business, student organizations and more. With products ranging from decor, woodwork, food, jewelry, glass art, photography, henna, 3D printed toys, soaps, candles, textiles, books, pottery, magazines, beverages, magnets, and metalwork.
Putting on a market like this is not an easy feat, and student leaders at OSUPC said it takes planning, preparedness and communication. Alaina Visi, a third year interior design major and organizational leadership minor and lead event specialist for OSUPC said that every event starts with laying a foundation.
“It’s really important that we emphasize what our goals were, what this event actually is, who our target audience is, and kind of just getting all those basics down.”
Visi said events OSUPC puts on are completely student run and student orchestrated. Visi said the main goal with all events is “to promote community engagement and enhance student life.”
“Something with Northwest that we really wanted to highlight was our local vendors, student vendors, local artists, and then also food trucks that come in every Tuesday, just kind of giving them a space to be recognized for all the stuff that they do and collaborate on that with everybody around them.”
Visi’s favorite part of the event is “getting to connect with all the vendors, seeing how much work they put in and how excited they are, and then the event just kind of being a hub of all exciting things all at once, is super great.”
Visi said that having Northwest Spring Fest over parents weekend makes it so students “can bring their parents here to see the community that we have at OSU and highlight the creativity, innovation of everybody around in the community.”
Booths were set up early on Saturday morning, vendors made up of both students and community members began arranging their products.
Some student booths included Microbusiness, a program a part of the College of Business Innovation Nation sequence class. The groups selling included Corvallis Carvings, Meraki Sweatsets, Win-key Co, and others.
Rachel Vezina, a freshman marketing major and the marketing director for her microbusiness, Corvallis Carvings, selling PNW and custom themed wooden magnets and key chains. Vezina feels that the impact of the microbusiness project is huge. “Oregon State’s business program is really underrated because we have like, real life experience that we can actually use in the real world.”
Laura Waters, who was running a booth that specialized in a variety of homemade treats and specialty marshmallows said it was her first time selling at Northwest Spring Fest but she had sold at the OSU Holiday Market in the past. Waters found the festival to be a wonderful opportunity to meet students and that Waters has fond memories of being on campus as a kid and walking around similar activity fairs.
Anna Lovelayn, running a booth that specialized in jewelry making and permanent jewelry application, said her favorite part of selling at events like Northwest Spring Fest is interacting with campus students and their families. She said she loves seeing “students excited to show off their campus to their parents.”
Hila Barnir, a junior in animal sciences, who was selling novelty candles, said it was her first time working at the Northwest Spring Fest. She said the experience offered a unique opportunity to sell on campus and see fellow student artists.
Sofia Jaeta, a freshman zoology major, was selling stickers and keychains with original designs and 3D printed models that were custom designed and painted. She said the festival was a great way to “make sales in person, have people hold my products and see them in person, rather than online.” She said making in-person sales also boosts her confidence.
When the event began, students, parents and community members began to shop. Carol Seeber, who was visiting her daughter who works on campus and her niece who is a student at OSU, was browsing the various food stands. Seeber said visiting campus in the spring is her favorite time of the year, and “getting to see student booths and student creativity is so fun.”
Annie Sayers and her family were visiting for parents weekend. Her family had just come from the parents and family weekend breakfast hosted by the OSU Alumni Association and were excited to check out the market and discover campus more.
Etta Weiler and her family were visiting for parents weekend. Weiler said her family has always loved craft fairs and was so excited to “see student creativity and the artisanship of the community.”
