Packapalooza is set to showcase every facet of NC State on Hillsborough Street along main campus Saturday at 2 p.m.
Packapalooza is an annual, free street festival concluding Wolfpack Welcome Week in which every NC State department and student organization is represented alongside community vendors and student performances. There will be 318 booths packed into just over a mile-long stretch of Hillsborough Street, according to Justine Hollingshead, head organizer for the event and chief of staff at the Department of Academic and Student affairs.
“Packapalooza is a great way to give back to and welcome back NC State students,” Hollingshead said. “It’s about showing students what we are about … The big thing that folks don’t know is that this is the largest one-day festival in Raleigh.”
Hollingshead has met with organizers since last October to ensure that the event runs smoothly and is as representative of NC State’s campus organizations and departments as possible. Among them was Student Body President Jackie Gonzalez.
“We hope students are able to find their home at NC State through Packapalooza, not just in organizations at NC State, but in the Raleigh area, which is where students will be adventuring through during their time here at NC State,” Gonzalez said. “This can be seen through any local orgs coming out or people in the community that will attend Packapalooza.”
As in past years, the street festival will begin at the intersection of Brooks Avenue and Hillsborough Street, terminating at the main stage outside the Aloft Hotel. Various “zones” will be set up for student organizations and vendors to provide easy access to booths. The D.H. Hill stage outside D.H. Hill Library, the Coca-Cola stage at Chamberlain Street and a separate performance at Pogue Street will accommodate performances throughout the day. Performers will range from campus a cappella groups and dance teams at the performance area to local and NC State-based musical artists and comedy groups at the D.H. Hill and Coca-Cola stages.
Each varsity NC State sports team will be signing autographs throughout the day at the Wolfpack Zone across the street from the Aloft Hotel. For students interested in the upcoming solar eclipse, the College of Sciences will have displays about the eclipse on Monday as well as eclipse watching glasses in the green zone outside D.H. Hill Library, according to Hollingshead. In addition, the College of Natural Resources will hold booths in the green zone of environmental projects and alternative vehicles, according to the event’s website.
This year, Packapalooza will be partnering with ActivateGood, a Raleigh service organization that connects volunteers to various local service projects in the service zone outside D.H. Hill Library. ActivateGood will host its “Be a Hero” service event there to encourage students to volunteer in the Triangle area.
Gonzalez, having attended the event for four years, looks forward to enjoying her Packapalooza planning enacted Saturday.
“My favorite thing about Packapalooza, as a returning student, is that you run into people you haven’t seen in a while,” Gonzalez said. “Everyone’s busy in college, and that’s okay, but it’s great getting to run into old friends, peers, and sometimes even faculty that come out to celebrate NC State.”
The event headliner, Spin Doctors, is set to perform at 8:45 p.m. on the Belltower Stage, followed by the Belltower lighting and fireworks. For more information about the Packapalooza schedule, parking, vendors and volunteering, consult the event page; for information during the event, visit the information tent at Horne Street.
