Students braving the predicted rain to venture to this week’s ASUO Street Faire will find the layout of the twice-annual event to be a bit different than usual.
Due to construction on Peterson Hall in the Lillis Business Complex, space for the event is limited, Street Faire Marketing Director Richard Pryor said.
Vendor booths that have historically been placed on the stretch of 13th Avenue in front of the complex will be moved down to the “heart of campus” – the intersection of 13th and University Street- as well as the section of 13th in front of Columbia Hall, Pryor said.
“In theory, we should have room for everyone,” he said.
Pryor said while the forced change has been stressful, marketing directors have been trying to move booths to those sections of campus for years because of the large number of students who walk through on a daily basis.
Because non-profit groups and student organizations set up tables in the EMU Amphitheater, the heart of campus has always been an empty space between the EMU and where the fair begins. The move will create a link between the two areas, Pryor said.
“The booths in the heart of campus area are very valuable booths,” he said. “I want people to know they’ll still be accessible.”
A very small number of booths will be located on the memorial quadrangle lawn between Chapman and Condon halls and the Knight Library. Pryor said plywood will be put down in the area to protect the lawn from foot traffic.
The Street Faire will be held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features entertainment in the amphitheater each day, including a dunk tank – a fundraiser for the EMU Board of Directors – on Wednesday.
– Jobetta Hedelman