During the week before finals, Oregon State University hosts various winter events.
These include the Holiday Marketplace, held from 10 AM to 5:30 PM in the Memorial Union Ballroom, and the College of Forestry Holiday Art and Craft Fair, held from 10 AM to 4 PM in Peavy Forest Science Center and Richardson Hall.
One event of note is the College of Forestry’s Holiday Art and Craft Fair, spotlighting 45 vendors.
The money raised from the fee for vendor booths goes directly to Rootstock, the COF’s in-house food pantry available for undergraduate and graduate students.
One of the most notable features of the event is the Holiday Tree Auction, titled “Firs for Food Security.” Essentially, various campus organizations, student groups, or individuals are welcome to decorate a tree with decorations they provide and contribute it to a “silent auction,” where attendees write their contact information alongside a minimum bid as they walk through the fair.
Attendees can also pick up a punch card which they can use to punch out a hole at each tree and leave it behind with their contact information for the opportunity to win one of the 11 trees showcased.
Jessica Fitzmorris, one of the Co-Chairs of Rootstock said,
“Starker Forests, they donated all of the trees for us…I think last year we had about the same amount of trees and we raised just from the trees about $2000.”
She continued, “I really do love that our College of Forestry Community comes together and really helps—me and my Co-Chair [Madison Dudley] do most of the behind the scenes stuff…but we really appreciate that we put a call out there…and people were like ‘Yup! We’re there!’”
This event recurred for three years and hosted vendors offering a wide variety of goods including apparel, ceramics, jewelry, wooden crafts, and more! This has allowed the COF and the vendors to network, forming lasting connections around the Corvallis area and beyond.
Selena Alcantara, a vendor at the event whose business is called GreenWitchBySelena, has participated for all three years. Despite not being from the Corvallis area, she said,
“Somebody from the school had reached out to me because I vend and they had emailed me asking me if I wanted to participate…they said it was for the College of Forestry, and I said ‘I love the forest!’ I feel that aligns with my stuff, so for sure.”
She expressed one of her favorite parts of vending is,
“Hanging out with other vendors and getting to meet other artists and people who are making stuff too, I think that it makes a lot of lasting connections.”
