As part of a fundraiser, the Bismarck State College Mystic athletes were busy at the September Downtowners’ Street Fair helping to make sure that the streets were clean of trash, and people were hydrated by selling sodas.
Garrick Baines, the point guard for the basketball team and business administration major at BSC, was one of the student-athletes helping. They worked in shifts depending on their class schedule.
Baines said that it is important for them to make their team look good and take care of the city. He said he enjoyed seeing all the vendors and interacting with the people. Many would stop them and ask them if they played basketball and where they attended school.
“That part is really good that we get to interact, and be a part of the community,” Baines said. He had plans to check out some of the vendors at the street fair after his job was done. He said he wanted to find a gift for his mom and eat some food.
The two-day event started as a “Customer Appreciation Day” that has been going on since fall of 1973. This will be the 48th year for the Downtowners’ Street Fair.
The Downtowners’ are a membership group that advocates for the health and vitality of downtown for the benefit of our entire community, CEO of the Downtowners’ Dawn Kopp said. They host many events other than the street fair including Downtown Development Days, Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Events, speakers, seminars, and more.
In order to make sure the street fair goes smoothly, a staff of three people, board members, and dozens of volunteers run the show. The Downtowners’ expect about 60,000 to 70,000 patrons every year. With the COVID-19 virus in mind, Kopp said that they saw a decrease in patrons and vendors within the last couple years. Kopp said the decrease of people was beneficial to them because it gave people space to spread out, and social distance.
“The Street Fair has something for everybody to enjoy,” Kopp said. “Whether arts and crafts or food, or taking your kids for a day downtown. It’s really a great community event that has something for everybody.”
The BSC athletes have been doing this for several years, and will be back at the event again next year. The athletes fundraise throughout the year in the Bismarck community. Most of it consists of cleaning, but their main goal is to be a part of the community and give people a chance to get to know the BSC athletes. Look out for fellow athletic students at the next event.
Comments