On Nov. 19 the USS Balthazar, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization and chapter of the Star Trek Fan Club, hosted its second Board Game Extravaganza at Modesto Centre Plaza.
The Board Game Extravaganza Event was started in 2021 by Robert Van Tuinen, event coordinator and CSU Stanislaus alumnus. He said it was started with the purpose of having fun playing board and card games and raising money.
“We had 64 people in attendance, but we had over a thousand dollars raised for our charity.” Van Tuinen said.
He followed this by talking about his plans for future events.
“We’re gonna keep doing this,” he said.  
Van Tuinen said the growth they’ve achieved since last year has allowed them to utilize double the amount of event space than the year prior and that he hopes that they can keep expanding like they are so they can get more vendors and people to attend. 
The event serves as a fundraiser in which 100% of the proceeds went to underprivileged youth involvement in the arts.
Bob Van Tuinen, event coordinator and Robert’s Father, said that funding for art education has been cut to the bone everywhere.
“We want to make sure kids have that opportunity because that helps kids be more involved, happy, and balanced people,” he said. 
The extravaganza was equipped with over $2000 worth of donated raffle prizes that attendees who purchased raffle tickets could win. 
It also hosted various vendors of new board games like Gosh Darn Bubbles, Mansions of Madness, and Lightsabers from Kyber Cave.
The event was open to all ages and had a variety of games for attendees to play. Games included classics like Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon, and new stuff like HerStory. 
Two tournaments for Red Dragon Inn and Pokemon were also held.
Allah Ahmad, who was having a Pokemon battle with his friends during the extravaganza, enjoyed himself. 
“It was a super fun event with lots of awesome vendors who were happy to talk about their interests,” he said.  
You can find more information on the USS Balthazar on their facebook page or on their website.