Frontier Fiesta brings music, culture, carnival rides to campus

Day one: Western day

Frontier Fiesta returned to UH from April 16 to 18, transforming the parking lot beside TDECU stadium into “Fiesta City” for this year’s theme, Stars over Fiesta. 

“In the decision process of coming up with the theme of Stars over Fiesta, we were really inspired by the fact that Houston is “Space City.” At the time, we weren’t entirely aware of the whole Artemis II launch and the launch happening a week before Frontier Fiesta just feels super serendipitous,” said director of development and anthropology and biology senior Olivia Dickens. 

​The Festivities kicked off with “Western Night.” Sights of cowboy boots, hats and western-inspired wear were seen all throughout the festival grounds.

The first day of Frontier Fiesta featured a station to customize a cowboy hat with spray-painted art, cultural showcases, variety shows, a silent disco, glow bingo and live performances from Nick B and La’Von J., with a headlining performance by Alana Springsteen.

​Student organizations filled spaces with various attractions. Her-Campus hosted a dirty soda bar, “Sasha’s Specialty Soda,” while the American Advertising Federation offered tarot readings.

​“It’s Fiesta under the stars, don’t you want to know what the stars are going to tell you?” said outreach officer for AAF advertising senior Natalia Bacarreza.  

Frontier Fiesta brings every Cougar into the works, with performances from fraternities and sororities.

“It’s a lot of little work at night, step practice, a lot of coordination and rehearsals to get ready for Fiesta,” said Alpha Phi Alpha member and civil engineering senior Jude Edwards.

The Vietnamese Student Association won first place for the cultural show, where they performed native and modern Vietnamese dances.  

​“We won first place for the Fiesta cultural show. It was kind of last-minute, but we knew we were going to perform,” said dance director for VSA and strategic communications sophomore Han Hoang. “We just missed the deadline to sign up, but it all worked out well and we won.”

For student organizers, Frontier Fiesta has been nearly a year in the making. Dickens explained the scale of preparations behind the scenes.

​“I’m in charge of getting all the sponsors, and it takes a total of 10 months to plan this event,” said Dickens. “Beginning last week on Friday, we came out here and cleared out all the cars, and we set up Fiesta City.”

​Dickens organized the booth for the Houston Astros and Bud Light to hand out merchandise, Topo Chico handed out new sparkling flavored water and organizers handed out free Frontier Fiesta theme shirts.

Day two: Latin night 

On day two, Fiesta offered various activities, including a do-it-yourself station where students customized bandanas using charms, creating an engaging activity for all ages and a fun keepsake.

UH mascots Shasta and Sasha also stopped by to host a meet-and-greet, where attendees had the chance to interact with them and take pictures.

“We wanted to have the Cougars out because it’s obviously a big attraction for students anytime they’re on campus, literally, the world stops, and you want to take a picture,” said Dickens. “In the past couple of years, we haven’t really seen the Cougars come out, so the fact that they were able to come and welcome guests on our second day of Frontier Fiesta was just awesome.”

The event also included carnival rides such as a mechanical bull, which played into Texas culture and the rodeo-esque vibe of Fiesta, as well as a gyroscope, a gravity-defying spinning ride.

Students responded positively to these new attractions, with many emphasizing the excitement of the rides.

“I thought Fiesta was going to be just vendors, I didn’t expect rides or the boiler room,” said computer science junior Isaac Gomez. “I’m a big ride fan because of the thrill it gives you. I love the rides, I wish there were more.”

Coog Radio hosted a boiler room for the third year in a row, featuring student DJs playing hip-hop, EDM and other genres.

“My friends and I came yesterday and today. My favorite part of day one was playing bingo, and for day two, the boiler room was really good,” said environmental science senior Milena Brocchini. “The energy was fun, and the DJs are really talented.”

SOMOS UH hosted Noche de Ritmo, filled with dancing. The organization taught attendees how to dance to genres such as reggaeton, bachata, salsa and Hispanic line dances, creating an energetic session celebrating Latin culture.

The night concluded with performances by SamKnight, Jacob De La Rosa and Grupo Nueva Federación.

“The salsa class was super fun and interactive. The instructor taught us some moves, and it was really cool to follow his lead,” said Houston resident Jasmin Medina. “I liked that he joined us and encouraged everyone to dance with each other. I thought it was cool because it helped people who were maybe feeling a little shy.”

Day three: Family fun day 

Day three opened up with an art showcase, where students showcased their custom cowboy hats and artwork. 

The Black Student Union also hosted a line dance workshop, where students were able to learn how to line dance and the Fashion and Business Association held a fashion show. 

The event also offered various activities, such as a human claw machine where attendees could dive into a pool of free merch and goodies and a trackless train traveled around the carnival grounds, creating a fun activity for kids and families. 

At around 3 p.m., due to hazardous weather conditions, attendees were told to take shelter in the TDECU stadium, and at 4:30 p.m the event was officially cancelled. 

“We cancelled the event due to the poor weather conditions. Emergency management systems were monitoring the event closely and made the call,” said Dickens. 

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