Binghamton University’s Fujianese Union brought Cousins Beach to campus on Saturday with its second-annual banquet, themed after the hit Amazon Prime streaming series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

Songs across Taylor Swift’s discography, which were featured prominently on the “The Summer I Turned Pretty” soundtrack to punctuate pivotal relationship moments, played as attendees found their seats in Old Union Hall and grabbed food. Several groups also captured pictures in front of a hand-painted backdrop of the Fisher family’s charming waterfront beach house, standing tall in front of a pink-tinted summer sunset and a perimeter lined by fairy lights. In curating the coastal aesthetic of the series, a bouquet of blue faux flowers topped each table.

Linda You, one of FJU’s banquet chairs and a junior majoring in business administration, discussed the decision-making process behind the banquet’s theme

“We wanted to choose something that felt relevant and widely recognizable to our audience,” Linda You wrote in an email. “At the time, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ was generating a lot of conversation, so it felt like a fun and relatable reference point. At the same time, we wanted to incorporate a culturally meaningful element connected to our organization. That’s how the title ‘The Summer I Turned FJ’ came about. While it’s a straightforward play on the original title, the intention was to make it humorous and dramatic, which also tied nicely into the tone of our banquet skit.”

The hosts were Stacey Zhu, secretary and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, and Sophia Jiang, vice president and a junior majoring in economics. Linda You explained that Zhu, who previously served as FJU’s banquet chair, established the blueprint for future events after planning the organization’s inaugural banquet last year, which now includes four additional new sponsors, including Kokoro Cat Cafe and Pho Hoàng in Flushing, Queens.

“This year, we focused a lot of efforts on expanding the community, especially by collaborating with six sponsors, ranging from large companies to small local businesses, to offer appealing prizes and raffles,” Linda You wrote. “Additionally, we also tried to reflect our internal bond through our performance and engagements on stage, which channeled our shared fondness and humor.”

The evening commenced with a skit inspired by the love triangle at the center of “That Summer I Turned Pretty,” featuring a protagonist named Tummy — a light-hearted spoof of the female lead’s nickname, Belly — conflicted between his feelings for twins Cora, his longtime crush, and Jamie, his childhood best friend turned something more. Played in segments throughout the banquet, interactive games and performances comprised the remainder of the night.

One round was entitled “brain teasers,” which flashed a series of word riddles on the screen. Participants exercised their mental dexterity, taking after the character Conrad Fisher who attends Stanford University on the pre-med track in the show.

Other games included speed dating, where contestants tried to win over the affections of Jovey Chen, FJU’s social chair and a sophomore majoring in psychology, and a scavenger hunt around the room to locate the attendee who possessed the most photos in their camera roll and the lowest bank account balance.

“My favorite part of the evening was the games,” Zhu wrote in an email. “It allowed us to connect to our general body, and get to know each other. Although they were only on stage participating for a couple of minutes, we got an insight into who our general body is and what they are like. FJU aims to foster a welcoming community, and we hope that audience members took that away from attending, and potentially look forward to joining E-Board in the future.”

Members of FJU’s E-Board performed choreographed dances to Swedish popstar Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress’s “Stateside + Zara Larsson” and Larsson’s “Lush Life” and other K-pop songs. Next, the E-Board invited Undivided, a multicultural R&B group founded in 2022 to bring together musicians of all backgrounds, to cover Swift’s “Lover,” offering entertainment that all guests could enjoy, regardless of their involvement in FJU.

“The event was an opportunity to learn more about Fujianese culture, explore diverse perspectives, and build connections within the community,” Iris You, one of FJU’s banquet chairs and a freshman majoring in nursing, wrote in an email.

Linda You explained what she intended the impact of this year’s banquet to be.

“As banquet chair, firstly, I hope that everyone who attended enjoyed themselves during the event,” Linda You wrote. “Beyond that, I hope that audience members walked away with a stronger sense of community, whether that is through connections to us or to the people they attended with. Our board worked restlessly in hopes of bringing forward an event that would foster appreciation and excitement through the merge between drama and nostalgia.”