EAST LANSING, Mich—The sun was shining in East Lansing on April 15 for two of the city’s biggest spring events: the Izzo Legacy Race and Vintage Fest.
The annual 5K Izzo Legacy Race has been held on the morning of every Michigan State spring football game since 2019. Each year the funds raised from the race are used to help local businesses and charities around the Greater Lansing Area.
Raquel Izzo, daughter of record-winning MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, helps her family organize the event and praised the City of East Lansing and all the local businesses that participate. The race was routed throughout the city and the MSU campus. There were 8,962 participants, both in-person and virtual, and $480,000 was raised for the fund, the highest amount in the four-year history of the race.
“A lot of it has to do with people wanting to come together,” said Izzo. “We had even more sponsors than we did in previous years and it reaffirmed that our community wants to be there for each other.”
Along with the race, the East Lansing business More Than Vintage hosted the second Vintage Fest. This festival included vintage clothing vendors, live music, food trucks and more. The store, located at 108 Division St., had the street blocked off from noon–6 p.m. for the festival.
The store specializes in vintage and secondhand clothing and opened in downtown East Lansing last spring. In October, they hosted the inaugural Vintage Fest. Since then, they have become a popular destination for secondhand clothing lovers, and through Vintage Fest, they have been able to become more than just a store. Staff member Ava Sarris was happy she got to be part of a business bringing so much positivity into the city.
“I think the second Vintage Fest was important to the community given the horrific tragedy that took place on February 13,” Sarris said. “More Than Vintage has brought so much to our community and I am so grateful to be part of such a hard-working caring group.”
Sarris said that the whole staff felt that after the success of the first festival, there should be one in the spring as well. It provided good business for the store, as well as many other local vendors. However, the festival meant more to the staff than just business.
“What made the first vintage fest so special was how it brought the East Lansing community together,” Sarris said. “The crowd and energy at the second Vintage Fest was a testament to how strong and supportive the Spartan community is.”
Both April 15 events were for the people of East Lansing to show love and support for one another just two months following the violence of Feb. 13. East Lansing resident Elaine Smith attended Vintage Fest and was happy to have an event in East Lansing focused on something that everyone could enjoy.
“I think it’s important for the community to come together because we have been through some adversity,” Smith said. “We can focus on something that is about the community in a positive way.”
“This one individual isn’t gonna stop making us love a place that’s important to us,” said Izzo. “It is a place we can gather to feel safe and loved.”