By Joseph Abraham, Editor-in-Chief

Published in print Oct.1,2014

Last Saturday I was one of the many UNCG students to attend the 2014 Tate Street Festival. Small businesses had tents across the street selling everything from candles, pottery, tie-dyed shirts, homemade shea butter or adorable hand puppets.

The festival is one of my favorite events of the year because it is the one time of the year where I feel there is a pulse on Tate St.

Like many places on campus, Tate St. has changed so rapidly even in the three years since I was a freshman on campus. Before there were a variety of restaurants or frozen yogurt locations, there were more local businesses on Tate St.

It was these businesses that made the street seem unique. I cannot even remember what the shop Design Archives looked like, all I know now is East Coast Wings.

There was even a sketchy nightclub called Club Drink. Even though I had no desire to visit the club or the casino themed business that failed thereafter, it was at least another thing on Tate St. to do besides eat food.

Design Archives and Club Drink are only a few of the non-food related businesses to leave Tate St. in the last three years.

While Addam’s Bookstore is a chain, it felt like a major part of campus, especially for all the UNCG art students who relied on their existence for supplies.

The most recent small business to leave Tate St. is Maya’s, a small and quaint business, which is now a vacant space up for rent.

I remember reading a UNCG magazine article from the spring 2010 titled “Turning the Corner on Tate Street.” It was a fascinating read about how UNCG students helped make a difference in the civil rights movement. Attached to the story was a photo of Tate St. in the 1960s, which looks like an entirely different place than Tate St. today. There were a bunch of small shops and even a cinema where students could catch a movie.

It made me think of Tate St. as a place where students went to hang out or find something to do, rather than a place to grab a slice of pizza or get wings for 59 cents on Mondays and Thursdays at East Coast Wings.

There is still some hope on Tate St. Both Coffeeology and Tate Street Coffee offer nice places to meet with friends. Sisters On Tate is also a nice organic business that ads something special to the street.

Regardless of whether or not you like the bands that play at New York Pizza, the fact that their business offers a platform to local artists helps to give some life to Tate St.

As a UNCG student I do like the plethora of food options on Tate St. because it also me to satisfy any late night craving.

However, I sometimes wish Tate St. had more things for students to do. After looking at how many people came out to the Tate Street Festival and all the creative businesses that participated, my hope is that something unique moves into the vacant space on Tate St.

While not every day can be a festival on Tate St., it can certainly be more interesting than it has been.