Augustana College Friendship Fair collection

The Friendship Fair’s origins date back to World War II when an Augustana graduate, Ray Grossman, was stationed in Europe. After the war, Grossman began working with the staff at the University of Vienna to organize student recreational activities. He had the idea to bring two Austrian students back to Augustana’s campus. In 1945, Augustana started hosting a series of fairs to raise funds for the World Student Service Fund (WSSF). While these fairs were successful, the students soon lost interest in fundraising for a cause for which the community could not see the results.

The fair was revamped in 1949, when the first official Friendship Fair took place. The carnival-style festival raised money to bring international students to Augustana, and to send an Augustana student abroad for a year. Each year, the Frienship Fair was conceived around a central theme, and fraternities and sororities built booths representing that theme. The themed booths offered snacks, games, and activities. At the end of the night, there was a large auction open to both Augustana groups and the local community. Another highlight of the Friendship Fair was the Mr. and Mrs. Friendship competition. The winners are said to be "the one person you would like to meet if you were in a foreign country." Votes were cast by placing pennies into the candidate’s jar. All proceeds from the fair went towards the fundraising effort.

The Friendship Fair continued to be a highly lucrative and popular event through the mid 1970s. The last fair was held in 1975, before being replaced by a smaller “Spring Fling” event that was not for charity, but whose purpose was to include many groups on campus, not just the Greek societies. There was a one year revival of the Friendship Fair in 1998.