Tag Archives: party

“St. Fratties Day” Celebration – Cal Poly San Louis Obispo

Age: 22

Date Collected 4/16/2026

Context:

My informant is a close friend of mine attending Cal Poly San Louis Obispo. She is a graduating senior and an active member in a sorority. She told me about Cal Poly SLO’s most recognizable holiday, “St. Fratties Day.” When I went to college in Santa Barbara, I knew all about St. Fratties day, but I never got the opportunity to go.

Text:

“Every year on March 17th, we wake up at 3:17, get dressed in our “greenest” outfits, take a green Jello shot, and hit the block parties.” That’s been the tradition long before my friend first enrolled at Cal Poly SLO, but it seems the traditions are changing.

To my informant, this is a uniquely SLO festival that’s shared with students all over California; students come from neighboring schools to attend, similar to UCSB’s Deltopia to celebrate. Typically, students indulge in “Irish like drinks – Guinness, Irish Whiskey, Baileys, Green colored mixed drinks and of course green Jello shots,” “anything that seems remotely Irish is there.” More recently, my informant explained that students come dressed in custom green t-shirts painted with white paint and patched. Like four leaf clovers or messages like “kiss me, I’m Irish” or “I love Irish goodbyes.” About two years ago, students made their own green “borgs” decorated with on- theme messages funny quotes or Irish themed puns.

The holiday has been largely student- run, consisting of massive block parties where certain streets of the town are packed full of students celebrating. House parties, local band performances and pre-games litter the surrounding neighborhoods as students prepare to gather on Hathaway street at 5am. Most students hear about the event through word of mouth, as it is quite popular; if not through friends, they see posts on social media discussing house parties or cover charges for bands. But it seems the tradition is about to change significantly.

Last year, the school started its own concert music festival on campus to divert attention from the neighborhood street parties. My informant told me that this is largely due to the resulting property damage, noise and underage drinking that occurs. In the 2025 celebration, roofs caved in and fences were toppled over by the mass of people.

My informant explained that while in the middle of the crowd she “literally thought I might die.” But, thats part of the fun. Regardless, she explained, the surrounding neighborhood, police, and other officials have placed pressure on the school to make St. Fratties less damaging for the community. So, as a result the school offered a music festival free of entry that has big names performing. My informant explained that the school and community’s goal is to make the block parties illegal and push students towards more “responsible and respectful” celebrations. Additionally, next year, the school is going to switch to semesters, so St. Fratties weekend will fall under their Spring break. My informant believes that “this is their [school and officials] path to totally killing it.”

This last March (2026) the streets were barricaded, with cops on horses preventing students from moving around. So, this exciting student tradition might not exist for much longer, which is sad for my informant and future generations of SLO students. This is a huge event for the students at SLO. They look forward to it, and it is a way for them to communicate their identity as SLO students and show off their campus and student life to friends from out of town. To them, this isn’t just a big party, its part of their life. The event takes a lot of energy from the students as well. Setting up, planning, coordinating their individual contributions and plans. It also takes place on “dead week,” or the week before their finals for the quarter. So, there is a significant cost for dedicated students to fully commit or even attend the event.


My informant explained that after the initial rush, around seven or eight in the morning, she and her friends go back to their house and sleep in the sun by the pool. They rest, get some work done then go out again later that night to the bars in town, which have green decorations, themed drinks and the bands performing. This is where the student population joins the rest of the community, because both students and adults are all out celebrating at the bars.

Analysis:

This event shows a lot about student identity and how events and festivals become a core part of students’ on-campus life. The community comes together to celebrate, meet one another, and enjoy being around one another. It’s an event where groups that otherwise might not interact can mingle and find common ground. It is a way to let go and be free of the difficulties of school for a moment. To release your tension before the push from finals. But also, in a way, a means to challenge the system. Students defy their obligations to study for finals to take part in this event. This is by definition the carnivalesque. An act that defies the “dominant” or regular system of the academic calendar by providing a day to suspend those roles as students. It is especially poignant because it takes place at the highest stakes moment of the quarter, right before finals week.

It also has ritualistic elements, like waking up at 3:17 am (3:17 = March 17th) and drinking Jello shots. This crates a shared “starting point” that all students can enter this event. Brutal as it may be in the moment, it is a fond memory of my informant and shows that students are committed to this event because there’s a “barrier to enter.” These are things that students wouldn’t normally do, waking up that early or drink the Jello shots. But under the context of the event, these things have meaning created by the culture and traditions passed on by older students.

It has been sad to hear about how the school and institutions are in effect “killing” the event. Switching to the semester system means everyone will likely be free from school and away on break. The holiday needs a place, that place and community are removed for the period of St. Fratties. There are risks for the event- students getting hurt, property damage, and noise, to name a few. But, I don’t think killing the event totally is a fair or beneficial solution. The event has become part of SLO’s identity, and students look forward to it every year. Even though they are offering a festival, my informant explained it was poorly run and wasn’t as fun or unique as the block parties. We learned this is called fakelore. An institutional ripoff trying to build on the authenticity of the people’s culture. My friend explained that it felt forced rather than natural. As an outsider, I’m upset by this. It’s like getting a YouTube video interrupted by a corny corporate ad that’s trying too hard to fit in. It also eliminated the house parties, random interactions, and smaller local student bands. When the day becomes just a performance, the students aren’t active participants; they become more like an audience. This institutional replica of the event highlights how the culture and specifics of the event are sanitized by larger corporations to create a mass-produced event. There are thousands of music festivals every year, but only one St. Fratties day.

El Caballo Dorado Dance

Age: 20


Date of performance: 4/25/2025


Language: Spanish


Nationality: Mexican American


Occupation: Full-Time Student


Primary Language: English


Residence: California

Text: “El Caballo Dorado” AKA ‘The Golden Horse’

Context:

My informant recalled a dance they learned as a child during a party, which they associated with ‘ranchero’ culture. The dance, known as “El Caballo Dorado,” is commonly performed at indoor parties, sometimes even during public celebrations outdoors, and features traditional clothing. It derives its name from traditional Mexican song under the same name that plays during the dance Similar to the “Cha Cha Slide” in American party culture, my informant added that it’s a group dance with synchronized movements. A signature move among the male dancers includes holding one hand on their cowboy hat and the other with a thumb tucked under their belt, reinforcing its cowboy-related theme. The dance starts at a manageable pace but increases in speed, turning into a sort of informal competition where participants must keep up with the rhythm. Those who fall behind are seen as having “lost,” though there isn’t a single winner—multiple people can succeed if they maintain the pace. The informant emphasized its role as both a cultural expression and a competitive party activity.

Analysis:

I listened to this song growing up under a Hispanic household, in doing so I hold a similar interpretation to my informant. Much alike my informant, I never learned the actual history about this dance just its background. This has made me arrive at the conclusion that—though it might’ve initially had a significant historical value upon its commencement—it has ultimately evolved to the traditional point of serving as just an entertainment value for Hispanic communities. Despite this, it has held on strong due to its levels of complexities people in the community take it and have continued to pass down throughout generations. Music is a strong foundation for most Latin communities, and this song and dance has served to cement this ideology of bringing generations of diverse individuals to continue to share the dance floor and enjoy their culture.

Carnaval Brazilian Festival

Informant: Carnaval, the most famous Brazilian Festival. You probably know it. Huge party every year. In Carnaval you play music in groups and do specific group dancing. its about celebrating your community and having fun with others around you.

Context: My informant was born in Brazil and spent the majority of his childhood there. Obviously he celebrated the Carnaval every single year. He would go with his family and dance all night and all day and listen to good music and eat good food. He hasn’t been back to Brazil in quite some time so he is looking forward to that.

Analysis: It is always interesting looking at the holidays of other cultures. You start to see the differences and similarities between what they celebrate it and why. Most American holidays are celebrated because of some holy person or because some tragedy that led us to being American. I quit like how this holiday according to my informant is just celebrating the community and having good times with everyone close by.

Death Anniversary Celebration

Background: The informant is a 54 year old man. He was born in Pampanga, Philippines. The informant grew up as Catholic, later converting to evangelical Christianity and becoming a pastor. He was exposed to the tradition by living in the Philippines. 

Context: The context was, when driving past a funeral procession, she was reminded of the tradition she experienced as a child.

Text:

PG: “During the the 10th anniversary, you know, for catholics, for catholics, if you know, you go to, uh, a church and ask for, uh, offer a mass, you know, you go to church to tell the priest that you want, uh, offer, you want to offer a mass for your, for the death anniversary of your loved ones, right? And then after that, we have, uh, like a celebration in the house, like invite people, friends and family, you know, to, like a party. And then after, and then, but before that, you, in the morning, you know, and also part of it is you go to the cemetery and offer flowers for the anniversary, so that’s the thing.”

Analysis:

Informant: The 10th anniversary is a major milestone when dealing with the anniversary of a loved one. It’s a time to commemorate the dead but also celebrate the person who has died. It doesn’t appear to be a sad celebration, but rather one that is enjoying what life has to offer. 

Mine: While death is a tragic topic, the communal gathering after the death of someone, or on their anniversary, in this case, serves to dispel the tragic thoughts and focus on the happier aspects. In the Catholic tradition, the death anniversary appears to be a moment to celebrate how one has lived, rather than mourn that they are gone. Additionally, it serves as a moment in time for everyone to gather together, whether it be extended families, neighbors, or other community members. Death traditions can actually serve to bring together people the most. Flowers are a traditional gift to leave on gravestones, once again counter to the idea of life ending, as flowers typically symbolize life. By giving flowers on the gravestone, it’s as if they are bringing the dead person back to life for the day, so that they are able to celebrate with them.

Seattle High School Party Tradition: “Spodie”

Context:

EZ is a college student that grew up in central Seattle and remembers attending these gatherings during her high school years.

Main Piece:

“A spodie is like, um, an outdoor party where, but it’s like, with people from your high school so it’s like high school-centric I guess. And then the jungle juice, I’ve never really had it because it scared me, but it’s definitely like, you don’t bring your own drinks because like, a lot of people are still in high school, um, so yeah, for sure. Five dollars a cup, or you just find a cup on the ground and use it.”

Analysis:

‘Spodies’ are a type of party that, while definitely exists elsewhere, only has the name ‘spodie’ in Seattle as far as I can tell. The outdoor setting, usually in a park, is typical of Seattle, where there are many green spaces available as they’re incorporated into the urban environment, and where the high schoolers involved generally do not have access to any indoor locations to throw a party.

‘Jungle juice’ here refers to the practice of mixing together many different kinds of liquids (many alcoholic in nature) in a large container (often a cooler), from which attendees scoop themselves a red solo cup. The price is charged for the cup rather than by the drink, and is usually around five dollars. As EZ mentions, some attendees that do not want to pay prefer to find a discarded cup on the ground to use instead.

All the individual elements of a spodie are common to underage and high school parties, and party settings. The combination of these factors (outside, jungle juice where you’re charged for your cup, high school age) come together to make it a spodie. EZ has no idea where the term came from, but knows that they’re widespread throughout Seattle, and have existed since before she reached high school age.