The first Fall Fair since 2021 was a day of pumpkins and fun for everyone. As patrons walked through Lot 30, and entered the R’Garden, they were being greeted by smiles at the door. A little ahead was a giant canopy filled with tables and vendors, in the back a stage and somewhere was the smell of tacos wafting in the air. The general atmosphere was filled with joyous laughter while little kids ran around, creating core memories.
The community garden was brimming with positive energy as people wandered around experiencing all the attractions and tables that were at the event. Some rode the tractor that drove around the garden, others partook in food and listened to the band Too Hard To Choose, who performed with all their heart on the stage. Some chose to spend quality time with their loved ones and take part in the little activities that were offered at the various tables. Others collected available goodies ranging from mini potted plants to crocheted goods.
Scattered around the R’Garden were various photo opportunities for people wanting to preserve their autumnal memories. One with a pop-your-head-in-the-hole design where you had the body and hat of a witch. Another surrounded by hay bales and pumpkins, giving a rustic feel to the area, and another with a giant wagon and scarecrows and hay.
Many of the vendors consisted of previous alumni of the University of California, Riverside! One such individual was Hazel Castenada, a UCR 2012 alumnus. The Harvest Festival this year was the first one she had attended since graduating, and this year she returned to help her mom with vending for her store, Semillas Artes. When Castenada was a student on campus, the R’Garden was just beginning to form, and she expressed her joy in returning and bringing her family with her, including her own little daughter, and is excited to help cultivate the relationship between the campus and the community.
Another alumni, Jasmine Flores, who graduated from UCR in 2020, was also vending at the event, bringing her crochet business to the festival. She was also an R’Garden intern during her time at UCR, and she shared stories of her time at the garden with a big smile on her face, reminiscing about activities like farming bok choy, harvesting tomatoes and coming face to face with spiders, and even preparing and planting grass in the ground, setting up the area for what is now used as the community garden plot. Flores expressed, “You know, I’m coming back to my roots. I love the site and I love being at the garden in general. I feel like it helps a lot with my mental health as well, like just being out here and being a part of nature as well as providing produce for the students and the community.”
Each vendor would greet patrons with a smile and happily share their own stories with each one. Many had UCR affiliations, others were reached out to by the organizers of the event. Each had a niche array of products they sold. Some artsy ones with stone pendants and jewelry, some explaining the various services and departments located in the county that anyone can get involved in or reach out to, some with crocheted goods with little ghosts and dinosaurs and some selling snacks for affordable prices to the various people around.
The food trucks at the event grabbed your nose and dragged you over to their location. Shaved ice, chicken wings, tacos, fresh fruit, smoothies and coffee and much more. All except for the smoothies and coffee being sold for reasonable prices, all definitely worth the buy with people constantly moving around and heading to the trucks to get snacks and meals for their loved ones.
Reaching out to the manager of the R’Garden, Richard Zapien, he recalls how organization for the event was a little hectic this time around. Normally the organization would occur over the course of 4 to 6 months, but this year everyone came together to bring the Harvest Festival to life in just 4 weeks. He said a lot of what happened was possible due to the support of the interim dean of CNAS, Peter W. Atkinson who advocated for the garden to come together and host this event because it is something that a lot of people come to, as well as Councilwoman Clarissa Cervantes who invited many of the food trucks and the vendors to the event as well as provided some financial support for it. He ends off by stating that “I’m very happy with the outcome. I’m very relieved that now it’s over and that everything came out great. And we’re planning on bringing back some more events for this [school] year.”
