Caltopia

I Love free stuff! And this is a great way to get to know the local vendors. Plus there are free snack every where!

BEST FREE EVENT EVERRR!!!
Seriously, people come from all over to attend this fabulous 2-​day event every year. From Cal-​students to non-​Cal students, friends, family, alumni, and staff. Absolutely incredible way to start off the year. New and familiar vendors each year, but you can ALWAYS count on FREE GIVEAWAYS. Tons of games and prizes. Try your luck with spinning the many wheels available, or challenge yourself with pull-​ups at the ROTC and Marines booths. Take a silly photo with friends. Collect as many bags as you can!
This year’s free swag includes: reusable bags in various colors (great for grocery shopping these days), hipster ray-​ban-​like sunglasses in various colors, pens galore in various colors, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, ping pong balls (great for replacing all your beer pong balls that have gone missing, or use them for ping pong), cereal (a true college staple), t-​shirts (change up your wardrobe!), coupons for local shops, Naked juice, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, and tons of photo booths. I noticed they have cut down greatly on reusable water bottles and t-​shirts, but hey, everything’s still F-​R-​E-​E so no complaints!
Just expect that there will be TONS of people (aka LONG LINES). Comes with the fact that this is a FREE, SUPER FUN event. Never too old for freebies!

Really fun, but too many people in such a small space. I recommend having it in a bigger venue.

Go early for the good swag. Stay late for the purging. The melt had a tasty stand, so did extreme pizza. Trader joes and Pentel gave the most generous amount. Free Bart ticket was the best cash value. Unless I missed some stuff because I got there late this time :(didn’t get as much as previous years but I looked for quality instead of just getting every useless magnet or flyer out there. Also check out the Unilocal table for Chapstick!

A great Unilocal by Wendy N. Yes, us senior staff still show up to Caltopia and it’s great to see the young scholars there in the frenzy before they are engulfed by the academic riggers of Cal. We try to make their college exceptional and memorable and Caltopia is a welcoming new tradition. The added bonus is that Nique F, the CM Unilocal Goddess, charms us all with her ever glowing smile and ever fabulous outlook on life! Go Bears!

I’ve been a staff member at Cal for the past five years. This week kicks off the start of the Fall semester. Caltopia signifies that the [summer] party is over. Time to get back to work/​study, fight for parking spots around campus, and give up trying to work out in the weight room in the RSF. As one of the few «mature» people there, I joked to my co-​worker «Nothing like going to Caltopia to make you feel 100 years old». Working at a university… a place where everyone remains around 20 years old and the only one getting older in you. LOL.
There are numerous freebies given out throughout the 2-​day event. I snagged a coupon for a free coffee at Peet’s, a North Face water bottle, lunch pack from Whole Foods, 2 chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s, info on great deals on Dell laptops (I am considering changing from an Apple to a PC person… hmmm) and numerous 10−20% coupons from local businesses.
Got some tastes from Clif Bar and IZZE sparkling water but decided to forego the free pizza slices, samples of grilled cheese sandwiches from MELT, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and Noah’s bagels. CRAZY lines for the free $ 6 BART tickets. Also didn’t bother trying to get a massage, mani, or haircut. Had a brief visit with Nique at the Unilocal booth, good to see her there!
It’s a fun event if you aren’t adverse to crowds. There is music, games, giveaways, food, info. what more can you ask for at a free event? :-)

Caltopia 2013! Here is the definition and details as what Caltopia is:
It is UC Berkeley’s method of celebrating the start of Fall 2013 by throwing the Recreational Sports Facility’s («RSF’s») doors open to the Cal community and the general public. Fun, food, and lots of free stuff! Free stuff?! Did somebody say, «Free Stuff?!» Whoa – I am so there!
I checked out the website as to who would be participating at Caltopia XI. I read there were going to be free haircuts and mini manis from Paris Beauty School. Oh, I will definitely get in on a free haircut! My hair needs it! And it is free! And Unilocal!is going to be there?! Oh, I will definitely go to Caltopia to see Unilocal!Because of my studies, I have not been able to attend any Unilocal!-related events. Other participants were The Melt, IKEA, Extreme Pizza, Bank of America, Ben and Jerry’s, Paris Beauty School, Benefit Cosmetics, Aveda, Pentel, and many of Cal’s student services and organizations on campus.
I was amongst the early birds who got there early and was amongst those waiting in line for Caltopia to begin. I took part at Cal Student Store’s plinko game. Scored a gold pen and Cal scarf! I made a new Unilocal!friend (Hey Maggie W!) while we were waiting to be let in! Scored a campus police tote and a car air freshner right before the moment we were allowed to go into the RSF.
All righty then, let’s roll. Played a few games, won some prizes. Signed up for some of the campus services, especially Cal’s Office of Emergency Services. Signed the pledge to honor Cal being a a smoke-​free campus in 2014. I found Paris Beauty School’s room at RSF. Had to wait about 20 minutes and was ushered into Maggie’s chair for my haircut. Got four inches cut into layers, got fringy, whispy bangs, got a blue hair extension, and a sample of hair conditioner. Love my new haircut! I hope Maggie has a bright future as a hairstylist! Any salon would be quite fortunate to have her!
And I found the Unilocal!photo booth! And Ben T. was running the show! It was great to meet Ben T., Unilocal’s East Bay Intern and my Unilocal!friend. Ben told me Shirene, another Unilocal!crew member would be joining him later. And Nique would be in on Monday. I will be back on Monday afternoon. When it was my turn for my photo, I got and donned on the Unilocal!Red gear for my picture and my degree of UnilocalY CUM LAUDE. Also scored my Unilocal swag of Chapstick, mint, and gloves! Thank you Ben!
I got lots of free bags, and as Maggie W. said in her review, they will come in handy as many of the stores are charging for bags now. I got a nice cold bag from Bank of America which will come in handy for refrigerated goods from the store to home. Got a free T-​shirt promoting community service after my promising to contribute to the community.
Got some pix taken as well. Got my Unilocal!ones. Still waiting for Cal Student Store to post mine with Oski and the sweet Aussie bloke on their Facebook page.
Will be back for a quick Monday in and out just to see Unilocal!A quick update – we shall see! Go Unilocal!
And Go Bears!
Caltopia XI 2013 Review #3
Fresh Unilocal!Review #59 for 2013

As in other years, Caltopia is offering a pretty good haul of bags and t-​shirts again. Drawstring bags, totebags, regular bags — you name it. We definitely need it, considering how all of the stores now charge for bags! As expected, the lines for some booths are crazy long, so be sure to come in early or during the afternoon lunch lull. I always get my fill of desserts (in the form of Ben & Jerry’s miniature ice cream cups) and protein bars when I come here, and they always have free slices of pizza. Something new for this year: Clipper cards already loaded with $ 5!
I would definitely recommend signing up for a free massage — it’ll be the best 15 minutes of your day. Caltopia offers free manicures and haircuts, but I would be wary about the haircuts unless you’re looking for a very, very simple ‘do. Head to the IKEA booth for useful goods (this year was free Solvinden night lights with batteries included!) but know that Lady Luck is required to win the best swag. Most booths require you to spin the wheel, play plinko games, or ask you to bring your beer pong skills to the table for their best prizes (e.g. water bottles, sustainable metal cups, etc.) Or you can do 10+ pull-​ups for the military to win similar items. And lastly, don’t forget to visit the Unilocal booth to have your photo taken with your friends and grab some mini-​spearmints and lip balm!