Vendor tent at the west side of campus on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Two tents on the west side of campus on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Shoppers explore the vendors near the bookstore on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Marcos Ureña (he/him) sports medicine major, shops at The Do-Over Vintage on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
The Do-Over Vintage, one of the many tents set up at the vendor fair on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Students shop at two vendor fair tents on March 11. (Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Students shopping at Pure Love Scents on March 11.
(Photo by: Nicholas A. Polenz)
Fresno City College held their Spring Vendor Fair in the main campus from March 10-12. The event that’s been on campus for more than 20 years drew up a large number of students.
Vendors lined up near the library, Student Services building and Design Science to sell everything from jewelry, clothes, incense and more.
Students and vendors were grateful to have this event at FCC.
“I think it’s important to have events like this on campus because it builds outside community with students,” ASG representative Love Quezada said. “It’s nice to just bring them on campus for students to interact, especially for students that just come to school and then go home, it’s just a fun part of the day.”
Many students were going from tent to tent, looking for different treasures either for themselves or for others.
“I think it’s a good way to get students out of their isolated habits and get them around here,” Jo, a mechanical engineering major said. “Usually I just look for things that remind me of my friends. I rarely ever get things for myself. Whenever something catches my eye and reminds me of someone, I’ll get it for them.”
Many of the vendors are returning sellers.
Renee Romero, co-owner of The Do-Over Vintage said she and her family have been selling at the FCC vendor fair for two years now. Romero said they travel outside of Fresno for similar events and have a shop inside the Manchester Mall.
“Me and my husband, we’ve been together for over 30 years and we’re pretty much hoarders, so we have a lot of vintage stuff at our house,” Romero said. “A lot of this stuff is curated, it’s things that we’ve picked up over a long time.”
She also mentioned that as a business person, this market is very important to her because it’s a way for people to learn about The Do-Over.
“The kids here are cool and everyone’s really polite so I really like this market,” Romero said.
John Harris, owner of Pure Love Scents, an aromatherapy and incense company, said that he’s been doing the FCC vendor fair for 15 years, and has no plans to stop.
“This is something that I love to do, it’s not work,” Harris said. “I get a warm reception here, it’s like family.”
Sha Ade, runs Porchez Bijou with his family. They sell gemstones and different types of jewelry, including waistbeads, necklaces, etc. and have been doing the vendor fair for four years now.
“Things are going good here this year. We’ve got a lot of regulars that come see us as well as new faces too. It’s been beautiful this year,” Ade said.
Ade said they sell at other markets and college campuses around the valley, but mentioned that FCC is where he started.
“We do colleges like UCLA, all the way to UC Merced,” Ade said. “But this was our first college campus so this is home, this is the starting point,”
The FCC vendor fair is a great way to get students out of the classroom and to explore local businesses.
The next FCC vendor fair will be a five-day event, held from April 21-25, so if you want to get out of your normal routine, check out the vendors and potentially find some hidden treasures.