Volunteer Angelita Echeveste shouted “go,” and a group of Isla Vista children scrambled for a line of whipped cream-covered plates, burying their mouths and faces in the sugary mess to search for hidden gummy bears.
“It’s going really well,” said Encheueste, a second-year Chicano studies major and Lambda Theta Nu sorority member. “The kids are having a good time and I’m having a good time - seeing the little kids’ faces, this really never happens for them.”
Between 200 and 300 elementary school-aged children and their families joined dozens of UCSB volunteers from Lambda Theta Nu and the Zeta Phi Rho and Nu Alpha Kappa fraternities for the eighth annual Spring Festival and D’a de los Ni–os held in Estero Park last Saturday.
From bounce houses and cotton candy to carnival games and performances, event organizers treated area families to a free day of youth-oriented activities. Several restaurants, including McDonald’s, El Pollo Loco and Sam’s To Go provided free or reduced-cost food and drinks for the fraternities and sorority to offer to people at the event for free.
“A lot of the parents are low income - it’s a break for them and it’s close to their home,” said Jessica Tobar, Lambda Theta Nu philanthropy chair. “It’s just to get away from the general Isla Vista stereotype. [The children] see people partying and drinking - we want to have a positive influence. And we have fun ourselves.”
Many children carried goldfish in plastic bags from booth to booth after winning them in a ping pong ball toss game.
“This [booth] is pretty much the main attraction,” said Edgar Aguilar, Nu Alpha Kappa member and first-year law and society major. “The kids win a fish, then they go right back in line. We’ve got plenty to go around - after a while we’ll just start giving them away. Everyone’s a winner.”
The day included a visit by county firefighters from Station 11, who brought the department’s largest ladder truck to show the children. Firefighters handed out stickers and made sure the children knew to call 9-1-1 in case of emergencies.
The UCSB Hindi Film Dance Team and Chinese Lion Dance Team also performed for the crowd.
Edgar Serratos, a second-year law and society major and Nu Alpha Kappa’s community service chair, said the event cost between $4,000 and $5,000 to put on. The fraternity received money to cover expenses from Associated Student Finance Board, A.S. Leg Council, the UCSB Educational Opportunity Program, the Chicano Studies Dept. and the English Dept.
“They were nice enough to help us,” Serratos said. “It’s a lot of work. We get here at 6 in the morning, and we’ll probably be here until around 7 tonight.”
While the Spring Festival and D’a de Los Ni–os are usually held as separate events, Serratos said budget cuts forced organizers to combine their efforts.
Miguel Lopez, A.S. president and Nu Alpha Kappa member, took a turn operating the cotton candy machine. He said that A.S. Finance Board has been able to allot several thousand dollars for the event in previous years, but could only give around $700 this year.
“I’d personally like to see a lot more events like this that promote unity in Isla Vista,” Lopez said. “We really need to pool our resources, but we still do what we can.”