Frontier Fiesta Exhibit Captures History of UH Student Spirit

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UH students in western garb, sitting on a wall at a 1950s Frontier Fiesta. From the UH Digital Library.

A new exhibit at the University of Houston Libraries highlights the revelry and renown of Frontier Fiesta, a campus tradition that began in 1940.

The festival holds a vibrant history all its own. Interrupted by World War II, reestablished in 1946 through 1959, revived in 1992 and continuing today, the event takes place each spring on the UH campus.

Fueled by student talent and leadership, Frontier Fiesta is a testament to the rich traditions passed down from one generation of Cougars to the next. It continues to be a major fundraising vehicle for scholarships and programs.

“The event celebrates UH student life, and shows the philanthropic work of students,” said Mary Manning ’98, university archivist and curator of the Frontier Fiesta exhibit. “It says that we are a culture that appreciates its traditions.”

The exhibit evokes the spirit of the festival, drawn from the University Archives collection of ephemera from “the greatest college show on earth,” as it was once dubbed by Life magazine in the early 1950s.

The public is invited to an opening reception for the Frontier Fiesta: “The Greatest College Show on Earth” exhibit on Tuesday, March 18 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the MD Anderson Library near Special Collections (second floor). The program will feature a talk by distinguished alumnus Welcome Wilson Sr., as well as guided tours led by exhibit curator, Mary Manning.

The exhibit runs from March 18 – June 6, 2014 in the MD Anderson Library.

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Posted on March 3rd, 2014 by Esmeralda Fisher and filed under Announcements | Comments Off on Frontier Fiesta Exhibit Captures History of UH Student Spirit