The 2023 Fall Vendor Fair occurred on Oct. 3, allowing local vendors to set up tables at Pida Plaza with information about their business and deals students can get at nearby store locations.
The Vendor Fair is organized by the Student Union and Event Services (SUES) every semester. This allows students to meet with vendors about what their company has to offer and for the vendors to connect with students from the local area and support the Student Union.
“For myself, it was about trying to find what I want to connect students to the community with. My goal was to really make the Student Union feel like it was a part of UNLV,” said SUES Sales and Marketing Coordinator Taylor Cayro.
Cayro says that the team had been working on this event over the summer and wanted the fair to encompass all aspects and directories of the Student Union. When planning for the event, he wanted students to enjoy some great deals through the coupon book that was offered and overall connect them with the community. Cayro also mentioned that this was many of the vendors’ first time at the fair and hoped to create great relationships with them in hopes that they return in the spring.
“As long as my clients are happy, as long as our students are happy, that’s good to me. I’m a student here at UNLV as well, so I thought to myself what I would want at the Vendor Fair and I felt like this is what I would want,” Cayro said.
Many of the vendors that participated in the fair relate specifically to student’s wants and interests. Jordan Andrada from Buffalo Exchange, a second hand clothing store where students can buy, sell and trade their clothes said that they get a lot of students in that area who stop by and that inspired them to come to the fair and connect with even more students.
“We thought it would be great if we could have a little booth out here and really put ourselves out there, not just for the people who already stop by. It’s cool to see a bunch of new faces,” Andrada said.
Some vendors also had deals specifically for UNLV students, such as White Castle who has a nearby location down the road from campus that accepts RebelCash and gives students a 10% discount.
“It’s great to see how many students we have going around. A lot of people didn’t know that we were so close, so it’s really nice that we’re able to inform everyone and make students aware,” said Kara Sucha from White Castle.
Vendors had a variety of ways to gather students around their booth, from prizes students could win, samples of their products or even selling their merchandise to students right there and then.
“I thought it was such a cool experience going to all the different booths. I love getting discounts with the coupon book and the spin-the-wheel type prizes,” said second-year film major Kai Kettwich. “I love these types of events on campus; they’re so cool.”
