Does Fred Fest Really Matter?

By Anne Lithiluxa


What defines the illustrious “Fred Fest?” Is it the booze? Is it the bands? Is it good times with great friends? Is it the school year coming to an end? We caught up with Fredonia students and alum to give us their perspective on what defines Fred Fest.


Kristie Frascati, Fredonia alum, now attends SUNY Brockport. She cannot even compare her campus’ “ Brock-the-port” vs. Fred Fest. She says she is ecstatic to make the trip up the I-90 to her old Alma Mater this weekend to reunite with her distant friends and party like old times on Fred Fest.

“It’s a staple in Fredonia tradition,” Frascatu said.

She’ll be spending the entire weekend at a friend’s house on Green Street. and this year she’ll be bringing her boyfriend, brother and girlfriends from Brockport to Fred Fest.

“They have all heard about it. I told them it doesn’t even compare to anything at their schools,” she said. “They need to experience Fred Fest.”

But what about the students who currently attend the University? Do they have a different outlook on the festivities?

Computer Science Major Robert Scott said that Fred Fest doesn’t really matter to him because there’s always “sh**ty bands.” Unlike many other undergraduates who have complained, Scott has voted in the election for which bands make the stage.

He says he would have gone to see Three 6 Mafia. Even Vanilla Ice (ice baby). When questioned about the band elect, Cartel, he is clueless as to who they are and what their sound is.

He navigates online to the band’s website to read up and listen to songs.

“It’s not bad… it’s actually catchy.” Scott says. After short contemplation, he announces, “Yes! I will go see this band!”

But honestly, it’s really about the parties after all. Scott, like many other seniors, agrees that Fred Fest is a time at the end of the semester, or college career, to kick back and celebrate (wildly) with everyone they’ve befriended over the years.

Elena Pontz, a senior Journalism student, says,” it’s nice outside, there’s parties, people hang out- it’s a celebration of the college with the town.”

But did she forget to mention the bands and the festivities on campus?

“I would go, and it would matter to me if we had decent bands.” Pontz said.

She knows that Fredonia State is shadowed by neighboring UB with its high budgeted artists like Ludacris, Akon, etc.

Kevin Flood, a junior Communications Studies major, says that he remembers his roommate AJ telling him about how he had been to the previous three Fred Fests and how awesome they were.

“The bands before I came here were good! Like, Eve 6 and Alkaline Trio,” he says.


Flood, a big music lover, hasn’t been to any of the performances because he has been, for a kinder word, ”uninterested” in the bands.

“But the past three Fred Fests which I have been a part of have been lame,” he says.

Stephanie Bellinger, a TV/film major, also has not been happy with the bands.

“I’ve been here for two years, and I’m definitely not impressed,” she said.

She has given up all hope on having a “cool band” and warns others that it’s never going to happen.

Although the headliners may be wretched – or at least not consensus picks – a positive note is the local bands, comprised mainly of students, as part of the bill.

The only on-campus activity that seems to stick in some students’ minds is the Dinosaur Barbecue catering. I had it last year, and let me tell you it is dino-mite!


But the music isn’t necessarily where the memories are made. Whether you go and see the band, or you party hardy hard, take the time off from school work and don’t think about upcoming exams. It’s one of the last remaining weekends to hang out with friends, many who you won’t see again until next year or perhaps never again.

As Dave Matthews says, take time to make memories, because “Life is short and sweet for certain.”