Matador Day — the annual celebration of Valencia’s unofficial mascot — brought spirited games, contests, food and fun to every Valencia campus on October 14. “Le Tour de Valencia” was the sports-inspired theme that emblazoned t-shirts this year. East Campus students were treated to a special concert by nationally known saxophonist and composer Eric Darius, who performed several sets for the crowd that gathered in the campus mall. See the video here.
Darius, who lives in Tampa, has been on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts and has shared the stage with Dave Koz, Jonathan Butler and Peter White, among other accomplished jazz artists.
You can see Darius’s brand new music video featuring The Floacist from Floetry here.
Valencia’s first Matador Day lasted an entire week when the tradition began in 1968. Organized by the Student Government Association, social and service clubs, and fraternities and sororities on campus, it was conducted in the spirit of homecoming week. As the college grew in the 1970s, the week-long celebration was refocused to a day still celebrated every year.