Frontier Fiesta will kick off once again on Thursday for the University of Houston community on campus grounds.

“Frontier Fiesta is a long standing tradition at the University of Houston,” Patricia Aguirre, Frontier Fiesta chair, said. “We now work hard to put on a three day event that raises money to give scholarships to UH students.”

Frontier Fiesta was founded in 1939 by Dr. Kemmerer but came to an end during WWII. However, in 1946, shortly after the war ended, the UH tradition was revived. LIFE magazine even called it “the Greatest College Show on Earth” in 1958.

Today, 73 years after Frontier Fiesta was founded, UH will celebrate with various themed nights.

“For this year’s Fiesta, we encourage everyone to make your mark with this tradition,” Aguirre said.

The Frontier Fiesta Association scheduled this year’s opening theme as  “Diversity Night.” Fiesta City will open its doors at 4 p.m., and the festivities will follow until midnight.

“Guest will enjoy shows from belly dancers, Russian dancers, mariachis, heavenly drums, concerts and more,” Aguirre said.

Diversity night will be followed by the popular “Cougar Red Friday” when all UH students are encouraged to wear red. This event is used to demonstrate and promote Cougar pride. This day will also be marked as the revival of an old Frontier Fiesta tradition, the beard growing contest that dates back to the 1940s. The doors will open at 5 p.m. on Friday.

“Family Fun Day” marks the last day of Frontier Fiesta 2012. It will kickoff at 8 a.m. with “Run for Recess,” a 5K run, which will begin in Lynn Eusan Park. This run will help rebuild the playground for the Barrio Student Center, an educational facility for students with remedial needs.

“Family Fun Day is centralized around the community and families. We offer shows for everyone to enjoy together,” Aguirre said.

Students play a major role throughout the festivities. Those involved in organizations work diligently to put on spectacular “Broadway style” productions for their audiences at Frontier Fiesta and compete with each other for a chance to be the reigning champions.

Other popular activities found throughout this event are the carnival booths that are used as fundraisers by nonprofit organizations at UH. In previous years, these booths have offered face painting, sumo wrestling and even laser tag.

All events will take place in the west end of the Robertson Stadium parking lot near Scott and Holman Street. The entire Houston community is welcome to join UH this Thursday to Saturday and celebrate one of their most anticipated and oldest traditions on campus.

“We encourage everyone to make your mark with this tradition. We want for students to feel that they have something to do at Fiesta,” Aguirre said.

By Carolyn Alvarez

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