Amidst the pouring rain and gloomy weather, the Petals and Pour event bloomed on Seventh Street Plaza, offering complimentary matcha and flowers for San José State students.
Petals and Pour, organized by the Associated Students (AS), ran from noon to 3 p.m. There were free cups of matcha for attendees and a chance to pick out brightly colored flowers to be wrapped into a bouquet.
Although there was an observably large crowd, supplies were limited to a few flower stems per customer. This resulted in a lot of people leaving empty handed.
Nevaeh Vital, a first-year kinesiology student, said she’s using the event as an opportunity to give her mother a bouquet.
“I think it’s pretty important. There’s a lot going on in the world right now,” Vital said. “So events like this, flowers in general, they kind of just show that, like, they’re here with us and they stand with us.”
Breaktime Tea provided the matcha for the event, a local business with a location one block east of campus in downtown San José.
Each cup of matcha was decorated with detailed designs and a business logo, as well as pink beverage carriers to match the floral aesthetic.
Andrea Manucat, the AS event coordinator, said she estimated the total cost of the Petals and Pour event to be around $200 to $300.
“This plan (was introduced) last semester and with everything, it usually takes around three months in advance with planning everything,” Manucat said.
Students could pick from an assortment of flowers to choose from such as pom poms, chrysanthemums, carnations, baby’s breath and daisies.
The flowers were supplied by Pixie Pop Ups, a Bay Area flower truck service.
Manucat said AS wanted to offer a little pop-up to celebrate Valentine’s Day week.
“So with Associate Students, if you have any ideas for events, come check out associate students and let us know what we are lacking or what we can improve because at the end of the day we want to do things for the students,” Manucat said.
Each bouquet was individually wrapped with craft paper and twine.
Johan Weldegabriel, a first-year aerospace engineering student, said he made two bouquets, one for his mother and another for his father.
“Yeah, this is incredible I mean, free flowers and free matcha, it sounds just like a community event, bringing people together, have some fun,” Weldegabriel said.
Pixie Pop Ups is a small business specializing in flower crafts, hosting workshops to make fresh flower crowns and wreaths. It has worked with SJSU in the past with a goal to brighten people’s days with bouquets.
Despite the day being scheduled during rainy weather, Petals and Pour managed to attract hundreds of students.
The line to check into the event stretched from the water fountain on Seventh Street Plaza to Spartan Complex.
After checking in, students had to wait in another line to gather their flower stems, which went from the Student Wellness Center to Spartan Complex.
Oskar Attar, a graduate computer science student, said he was happy with how colorful his bouquet turned out.
“I think events in general are a good morale booster for the students,” Attar said. “I think it’s a tangible way for students to feel like they’re getting something back from the university.”
The event led some students to wait over 30 minutes in line and many left without a bouquet or matcha due to limited supplies.
