The ASUO Spring Street Faire will take place this Wednesday through Friday along 13th Avenue. Along with ethnic cuisine and local wares, the warm-weather fair offers the opportunity to send members of the EMU Board of Directors into a dunk tank.
“You can dunk me,” ASUO Sen. Billy Hatch said. “I’ll be there from (noon) to 2 p.m. on Wednesday.”
The dunk tank is an annual fundraiser for the EMU Board. It will be running all day Wednesday. While several board members have volunteered to be dunked, EMU Director Dusty Miller said he will not take the plunge. “I haven’t been in a dunk tank in a long time,” Miller said.
The semiannual fair is a fundraiser for the ASUO, and the only source of revenue for student government beside the incidental fee students pay each term.
Revenue comes from local vendors who rent space at the fair. ASUO Finance Coordinator Matt Rose said last fall’s Street Faire brought in about $9,000. But Marketing Director Ella Barrett said she expects to make “a little bit less” this time because of an economic downturn, parking and other expenses, Barrett said.
“There’s always new vendors who come in, so it’s always a new fair,” she said. There are fewer booths this time, however, because vendors complained about being crammed together.
ASUO President Emily McLain said the fair “is a really fun time during spring term because there’s a ton of food and crafts and local vendors who come to us.”
Some of the vendors will include Dave’s Killer Bread, Ritta’s Burrito’s, India House and Bangkok Grill.
“I am anticipating all of the wonderful tasty food and staying up late at night acting as a security guard,” Hatch said.
Student volunteers act as security, both at night and during the day. Barrett said the volunteers help keep vendors and fairgoers safe by keeping bicycles off the road to prevent accidents.
Moses Barrett, Ella Barrett’s brother, said he is most looking forward to chocolate-dipped bananas.
“It’s like taking a bite out of heaven,” he said.
The National Weather Service forecast did not include any rain for Wednesday, Thursday or Friday on its Web site as of Monday evening.
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