SAN JOSE, CALIF.—Hosted by District 7 Youth Advisory Council (YAC), the annual Creative Futures Fair is back at Yerba Buena High School on March 22, 2025.

The Creative Futures Fair, formed last year in 2024, is an event designed to bring our community together. Running from 10:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M., the event offers something for everyone, featuring a diverse lineup of vendors, food and even live music. The event provides an amazing opportunity for small businesses, offering them a free and accessible platform to showcase their products to the community! Vending and attendance are both completely free, making it a fun experience for people of all ages. Aileen Dang, a member of YAC and senior at Silver Creek says, “It’s a great way for youth vendors to gain exposure.”

The event was originally scheduled for the weekend prior on March 15, but because of some scheduling issues with Yerba Buena, they had to reschedule. Kudos to the YAC for making it work despite the interference! 

The fair featured an impressive lineup of vendors, ranging from non-profit, student-led organizations to small businesses making their vendor debut! I personally noticed a lot of vendors that sold handmade trinkets such as crocheted animals, phone charms, hair clips and necklaces. This was definitely a pro because I love indulging in trinkets! I purchased a hair clip from Kizproducts, an Evergreen Valley High School student-led business.

Nguyen Le, a senior at Silver Creek and co-founder of Packed With Care said, “We make care packages to distribute as a token of love for strangers, cancer patients, foster care children and more to remind them that there are people who care for them.” 

Le further highlights how events like the fair provide important funding for small organizations, helping them give back to the community. I bought a mango agua fresca from the booth and it was delicious—definitely a perfect treat to pair with the sunny weather!

On the flip side, unlike last year, the Creative Futures Fair was held at the basketball courts instead of the grass field. I personally preferred the previous location, as it featured a stage for the live performances which further emphasized them. This is only a minor criticism and didn’t significantly impact my overall experience at all! 

At first, I also took note of the decline in the number of vendors compared to last year, though this isn’t necessarily anybody’s fault. Factors such as scheduling constraints or other challenges could have played a role. Regardless, the booths that were present were awesome!

Moving on to the live performances—I thought that they were great! While I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest music geek and was only able to catch two of the bands, I was really impressed by their performances.

Overall, the event was super fun to attend and it was so cool seeing so many people I know from school at their booths or volunteering. I loved looking around at all of the unique vendors and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s! I rate this year’s Creative Futures Fair an 8/10!