Music drifts through classroom windows as the smell of sizzling meat floats down East 13th Avenue, drawing hundreds of students to the heart of campus.
The ASUO Spring Street Faire has arrived.
The Faire will begin Wednesday, May 2 and will end Friday, May 5. Local vendors from all over Eugene will set up carts, including Ritta’s Burritos, Wild Squirrel Nut Butter and Cart De Frisco. All carts will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be 69 carts down 13th Avenue and 20 in the EMU Amphitheater. ASUO Events Coordinator Ashley Kane, who acquired all the vendors for the Faire, tried to focus on working with local businesses.@@http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rittas-Burritos/179242259692@@ @@http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Squirrel-Nut-Butter/244079435634394@@ @@http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cart-De-Frisco/145165888852543@@ @@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/ashley*kane@@
“Eugene is a very diverse community, and this is a great way to help students be aware of different places around the city,” Kane said. “The Faire also benefits the community as well as the students.”
Kane wants students to pay attention to two new and fun carts: Classic Collections, which sells only hats, and Durian and the Lyon, which focuses on bow ties.@@http://www.manta.com/c/mt43mpc/classic-collections@@ @@http://www.durianandthelyon.com/Welcome4.html@@
This year, the ASUO announced that the Faire will also include many student performances. Megan Comer, assistant ASUO events coordinator, helped set up the entertainment. Two student bands will perform on Friday and KWVA will have DJs during the day on Wednesday and Thursday.@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/megan*comer@@
Student groups such as Ahiru Daiko, the Hawaii Club and Jam Squad will be holding performances throughout the event. The Craft Center is also getting involved, by holding demos during the day and having a face-painting area.@@http://pages.uoregon.edu/ahiru/home.html@@ @@http://leadership.uoregon.edu/get_involved/student_groups/436@@ @@http://pages.uoregon.edu/uojamsqd/@@ @@http://craftcenter.uoregon.edu/@@
“The performances are a great way to showcase the variety of talents on campus,” Comer said. “This is a really exciting time on campus all around. It lifts everyone’s spirits during spring term.”
The Faire is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the ASUO Executive.
ASUO President Ben Eckstein explained that the money is used to fund many things. Some of it goes toward conferences that require travel, and a portion helps to fund the Faire itself.@@It’s Beckstein. It’s spelled correctly.@@
Although it is important for the ASUO to make money, everyone involved agreed that it is a nice way to enjoy the day and to be social.
“If  you only have ten minutes between classes, you should find a food cart and eat something you haven’t eaten before,” Kane said. “There are boundless things to experience.”