With dancing, music, free food and scores of smiling faces, the 22nd Annual Activities Faire prodded students to stop vegetating and starting participating in campus life.

About 60 campus organizations set up tables in Storke Plaza yesterday, drawing in hundreds of students. While some groups offered free food and others practiced their dance moves, all club representatives got the chance to tell passersby what they were all about.

“It’s really good for organizations to be here,” said Victoria Morales, a volunteer at the American Indian Cultural Resource Center table. “This has been our best event for getting students this year.”

As many participants found, the fair is also an opportunity for new students to learn about the campus’ different clubs.

“I got here fifteen minutes ago and I’ve signed up for about four or five organizations so far,” Kathleen Jequinto, a first-year communication major, said. “A lot of the clubs are for causes. [The entertainment] is interesting and it’s all very different.”

Some of the organizations at the activities fair were there tabling for the first time.

“Tons of people have stopped by,” said Cara McNamee, President of the Vegan Interest Vegan Outreach club. “A lot of vegetarians are coming by who are interested in being vegan. … We’re a brand new club. It’s the first time we’ve been out.”

Many of the performances the clubs put on caught the attention of students walking by.

“I like watching all the performances,” Karina Dorstel, a fourth-year linguistics and German double major, said. “A lot of small groups you don’t really hear about are here.”

Another student passing by said he didn’t even realize an activity fair was going on in Storke Plaza yesterday until the music drew him in.

“I heard the hand drums, that’s why I came down here,” Harvey Edwards, a third-year philosophy major, said. “It’s cool that there’s always a club around.”

One of the clubs providing musical entertainment at the fair managed to sign up a lot of interested students.

“We did a little performance,” said Areo Saffarzadeh, organizer of Musicians Making a Difference. “It was good; people came up and asked about the organization … We’re trying to make a directory of all the musicians at UCSB. We’re trying to create a community of musicians.”

Other clubs used dance to entice new recruits. Courtney Minteer, Iaorana te Otea practice coordinator, said the group had a line of people at their table after a successful performance.

“We’ve been around for sixteen long, cool years.” Minteer, a fourth-year communication major, said. “Before we performed we had a few people. After people saw the energy of the dance there was a line of people at the table.”

Students at the event were also drawn to the amount of free food, including free Three Musketeers Bars, which third-year drama major Charlie Garnville said he had never before tried.

“It’s been fantastic,” Garnville, a member of I.V. Arts, said. “Lots of lovely people have stopped by mostly looking for free candy … [Our group] wants to bring theater events off campus and into I.V. to get rid of the drinking binge culture and bring a bit of culture to I.V.”