Wolfpack Welcome Week came to a grand conclusion with Packapalooza on Saturday, 12 years after the event’s debut at NC State. Hillsborough Street closed down to make room for hundreds of vendors, food trucks, student organizations and performers.
The event lasted eight hours without a single dull moment. The long, blocked off street showcased booths selling jewelry, candles, coasters and creatively handmade knicknacks. People offered massages and hair cuts between inflatable bull-riding and basketball tosses. There was even a fox who could write poetry.
The variety of attractions provided appeal to a wide audience and connection between attendees. Students were not the only ones enjoying the festivities. Alumni, family members of students and Raleigh locals all gathered to enjoy the diverse opportunities of entertainment.
Simar Pama, a fourth-year studying biological sciences with a minor in psychology, said the event helped them to feel more connected to NC State as a transfer student.
“I think it’s become a really good way to socialize and that means meeting a lot of different people,” Pama said.
Zones organized the entertainment into different physical sections so people could find their specific interests. Zones included arts, food and even a play section with games and inflatables. Scattered around the zones were three stages, which were used throughout the entire day by various performers.
Elise Boorom, president of Chordination Acapella and a fourth-year studying biological sciences, said the feeling of performing at this event is different from those they have previously participated in because of the different types of people Packapalooza attracts.
“There’s tons of people around the stage, lots of smiles, which was really sweet,” Boorom said. “It’s so cool to see kids, students, parents, everybody just enjoying all different kinds of performances and organizations.”
The final concert was performed at the largest stage closest to the Belltower. This year indie pop rock band, The Rescues, headlined.
The band formed in 2008 and is led by lead singer, Kyler England, a 1998 NC State graduate. Heavily involved in campus life, England was an RA and Caldwell Fellow, on top of performing in a college band.
Justine Hollingshead, Assistant Vice Chancellor for DASA and a chairperson for Packapalooza, said that involving an alumni helps make the event unique to NC State. Although this is not always possible, the planning committee’s goal is to uplift students, current and past alike.
The Rescues also incorporated Chancellor Woodson into their performance, inviting him on stage for a song. Hollingshead said having an alum for the headlining performance was extra special because Chancellor Woodson is retiring this June, making this his last Packapalooza.
“[England] came to school here and spent time as a musician performing all over the world,” Hollingshead said. “And so it just worked out. It was fate, I guess, having the Chancellor perform.”
After the festivities ended and the crowd went home, the feeling of Packapalooza stayed. When the vendors packed up and the performers were long gone, a special memory of laughter, community and joy lingered.
No matter your interests, Packapalooza is filled to the brim with more than enough options to entertain anyone. From paintings to drum lines, Packapalooza had something for everyone.
