One of UH’s longest running spring festival, Frontier Fiesta, was held Thursday through Saturday last week.
The student-led carnival opened Thursday evening in the TDECU stadium parking lot with a completely repainted mural. It was free for all students and non-students and this year’s theme was “Revival.”
The story behind the theme lies with the namesake song by Zach Bryan. The organizers also wanted to highlight the Western culture and bring back the rodeo roots.
Day 1- Variety shows, step shows, salsa night
The opening day mainly focused on the long-running tradition of variety and step shows by different fraternities and sororities.
“Everyone in Alpha, Chai, Omega and Tau Kappa Epsilon have been working hard for months on the choreography with the dance stunts, their lines and acting,” said TKE member and marketing sophomore Mateo Gantiva. “It’s a whole ordeal with a lot of commitment, but the payout is worth it.”
Frontier Fiest is an important part of Greek life students’ college experience, as it enables them to pair up with different sororities and fraternities to perform.
“I am paired up with TKE in my sorority. Alpha, Chai, Omega and it’s been really fun,” said human resources development freshmen Mia Farrow. “I didn’t really know any of the guys, and so I’ve made a lot of friends throughout.”
The competition not only builds school spirit and camaraderie, but is also an attempt to give back to the community. The money raised through the Step Shows is given back to the students through scholarships.
While UH’s festival is smaller than some at other universities, students say they don’t mind.
“It’s not as big as other schools, but we kind of like that,” Gantiva said. “It’s just a smaller community, but we appreciate everyone who pops out and it’s just a great time. It’s definitely a highlight of the year.”
Attendees also enjoyed a silent disco, salsa night organized by Council for Cultural Activities and SOMOS and Outlaw’s Den which had billiards, air hockey and foosball.
“Everybody coming out, from different organizations, we have commuters, on-campus students, alumni come back, as well as the general Houston community,” Frontier Fiesta chair and public relations senior Bailey Payne said. “It’s just a great way to celebrate as a community, as UH and Houston as a whole.”
Day 2- Cougar Casino, Midnight Beverage, mechanical bull
On the second day, the Cougar Casino tent was a highlight for many attendees along with the headlining band, Midnight Beverage.
“It’s super fun,” said biochemistry sophomore Marina Farquhar. “This is my second day being in the casino. I like that you can redeem the chips at the end for raffles, so if you have leftovers, it’s not like you feel like you’re losing.”
Another big giveaway on day two was the UH jersey-style shirts featuring the number 27, a nod to the University’s founding year, 1927.
The giveaway was the result of a collaboration between student organizations and UH Athletics, said strategic communications junior and Council for Cultural Activities director Yhoalibeth Guerrero Becerril.
“This year, we partnered with UH Athletics to boost Cougar spirit, especially with the NCAA championship game,” Becerril said. “It’s all about building tradition and giving students a unique experience.”
Students could personalize the shirts by adding names and patches, making the activation part of a broader Centennial-themed celebration.
The UH Student Program Board also organized the Cosmic Hoedown where students enjoyed line-dancing. The organization also gave free cowboy hats and snacks as well.
Many students were excited about the free attractions like the ferris wheel and the mechanical bull that made its debut at Frontier Fiesta. The ferris wheel was also a common spot for attendees to take pictures.
“I was nervous at first to get on the ferris wheel,” Santiago said. “But it was a lot of fun. I really like it, and I’m very glad it’s free.”
Day 3- Nardo Wick, 4Elamin, Family-Fun day
Day three of Fiesta drew crowds eager to enjoy its festive music, food and student led activities. The day also saw families come out as it was the Family-Fun day.
Students noticed a difference in the annual festival as the concerts were all restricted to one stage allowing students to enjoy games and events without missing the concert.
“I think the artist being at the Bud Light stage connects students back to Frontier Fiesta and allows them to enjoy the activities after the concert,” said strategic communications senior Omar Castanon.
Students appreciated that there was more to offer this fiesta. There was a variety of food options and tents hosting fun games and events.
Nardo Wick was welcomed the stage after a lively performance by student performer 4Elamin.
4Elamin brought the crowd together by playing mixes of well known songs as well, allowing the crowd to sing along.
“The performance was pretty cool,” said music education senior Trenten Hill. “He played a lot of stuff we knew so it was easy to dance to, me and my friends had fun.”
The crowd grew bigger and more eager to see Wick’s performance with people calling out his name as the time for his performance got closer.
The crowd was excited and enjoyed the night when Wick came out. There was a wave of flashlights in the crowd as Wick encouraged the crowd to turn on their phone flashlights and sway to the beat.
“The performance definitely lived up to my expectations, it was a good vibe,” said public health sophomore Sarah Wright. “They should definitely have these types of performances for the homecoming concert as well.”
However, while the attendees enjoyed the concert, students still felt that UH could’ve done better with their choice of the headliner.
This sentiment comes in especially because of the past few headlining artists like Juicy J, JID and Paul Wall.
“With the popularity UH has gotten recently from the final four results and the top rankings, I think the headliner could have been bigger,” digital media junior Andrea Briceyry Rubio.
