The campus community gathered on a rainy Saturday for the Student Association Programming Board’s annual Spring Fling. The festival ran from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by the concert, which began at 6:15 p.m. and featured headliner A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and opener Stuck in Place, the winner of this year’s Battle of the Bands.

This year’s festival, which took place on the Peace Quad, the Admission Center’s sidewalk and the Old Dickinson Quad, was themed “Tides n’ Vibes” — a nod to A Boogie’s smash hit “Drowning (feat. Kodak Black).”

The festival embodied a deep-sea aesthetic and implemented neon and bioluminescent accents like sparkly purple and blue jellyfish decorations that hung in the Peace Quad trees, along with jellyfish stilt walkers. Attendees even had the opportunity to purchase mini stuffed manatees and themed merch.

Rides like swings, a super slide, a carousel and more spanned across the Peace Quad for attendees to enjoy. Smaller activities like a balloon popping game, axe throwing, face painting and a gaming tent, with Mario Kart, Wii Sports and a photo booth, were also available.

“I hope students get a chance to unwind and have fun before the stress of finals,” Andrea Shirkey, SAPB’s festivals chair and a senior double-majoring in Latin American and Caribbean studies and philosophy, politics and law, wrote in an email. “It’s one of the last major campus-wide events of the year, and it’s a chance to enjoy free rides, food, and music—and to see a New York City artist many of us grew up listening to. It’s about taking a well-deserved break.”

Most food trucks lined the outer edge of the Peace Quad and sold carnival treats like funnel cake, fried Oreos, blooming onion and kettle corn. Lot B, located across the Peace Quad, offered a few other vendors, including Here’s The Twist, an ice cream truck; Macarollin, which sold gourmet mac and cheese; and The Kitchen Counter, a local food truck company that recently opened a permanent location in Endicott.

Along the Admission Center’s sidewalk, festival-goers were invited to shop at the student flea market — a recurring event SAPB hosts throughout the year. This Spring Fling, many stalls featured handmade items like crocheted animals and jewelry, as well as vintage clothing and baked goods.

Attendees could also check out the various on-campus clubs and organizations that tabled on the Old Dickinson Quad.

“As an attendee, I love feeling like a kid again,” Jackie Palmer, the SAPB’s vice festivals chair and a junior majoring in environmental studies, wrote in an email. “To go around a festival like this one and eat different food and go on rides and have a reason to be outside with my friends doing something fun. As someone organizing this event, my favorite part is seeing it all come together, working with Andrea has been so great and it’s been so fun to be making these big decisions about the theme and vendors and rides and layout and so much more.”

Throughout the afternoon, dance groups such as Binghamton University Dance Team, Paradox, MODA and the Binghamton Ballroom Dance Association performed near the MarketPlace steps.

Initially, Binghamton Sound, Stage and Lighting were supposed to provide equipment for live performances on the Peace Quad, but in an email to the bands the night before, it expressed that due to the weather conditions, it was unable to offer its services. However, Hazel Thurman, vocalist for Anyone But Her — one of the performers at the festival — and a sophomore double-majoring in biology and theatre, took the initiative to find a way for the bands to play.

Thurman made a group chat with all of the bands, and on the morning of the festival, they all brought and shared gear. She took charge of the setup, and with help from the bands, the performances were able to continue.

Other bands that played included Ramblers, LARJ, Heavy Weather and The Dimension Gnomes — the latter three being contestants in February’s Battle of the Bands.

Despite the rain and looming clouds, the annual Spring Fling concert proved that a little weather couldn’t stop the spirit of the event. After the festival portion, there was the highly anticipated concert. Held in Lot 1, this free concert opened with the student-run band Stuck In Place.

Stuck In Place included Aiden Hunt on bass and vocals, Elijah Van Shephard on drums, Maddox Thornton, one of the guitarists and vocalists and a sophomore majoring in English, and Sawyer Gibson, the band’s guitarist and a sophomore majoring in history.

Starting with an unreleased song “Who The Hell is Ed Diamond?,” Stuck in Place played an original setlist including their songs “Grocery Outlet, Bargain Market,” “New (Unreleased),” “36,” “Shattered,” “Kill Him (Unreleased),” “Just Make it to Wednesday (Unreleased),” “Weird Jesus Girl,” and “On The Shelf.”

“Saturday was a very humbling experience, and it was an honor to have been the opener for this year’s Spring Fling,” Stuck In Place wrote in an email. “To be on the same bill as someone with the track record and notoriety as A Boogie is something we will always look back on as one of the fondest memories in our group’s time together thus far. As a band who have grown up in this city, in this scene, and with the people we had the pleasure of getting to meet and grow alongside with over the past number of years, this event was symbolic of not just our hard work and dedication, but the Binghamton punk rock scene as a whole.”

The band also expressed gratitude to be part of this year’s concert, extending appreciation to all the audience members who braved the rain to experience their performance.

“We didn’t come into this show with any expectations or inhibitions about what type of response we would end up receiving for the audience,” they continued. “But for them to have showed up early, and end up sticking it out with us in the pouring rain, and do it while dancing and smiling and laughing and having a good time is more than we could have ever asked for. We feel eternally grateful to have reached that many people with our performance.”

Following the student opener, DJ Ominaya preceded the headlining act, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, with an electric and nostalgic set.

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Highbridge in the Bronx, New York City. The rapper performed a full set including several of his most popular hits, such as “Drowning (feat. Kodak Black),” “Swervin (feat. 6ix9ine)” and “Look Back at It.”

“A Boogie has been the most requested artist from students year after year,” Madison Perdue, SAPB’s vice concert chair and a junior majoring in business administration, wrote. “After Gunna’s iconic Spring Concert performance in 2022, students have anticipated the announcement of the Spring’s headliner, holding SAPB to very high standards. Thanks to student’s attendance at our ticketed Fall Concert with NLE Choppa and Baby Tate, we were able to use that profit in securing A Boogie this year. SAPB is all about ensuring students’ voices are heard, so choosing A Boogie as the headliner was a no brainer.”

DJ Ominaya played a major role in engaging the students with songs, prompting chants, call-and-response moments and shoutouts to the crowd. Two backup dancers on stage added choreography and movement that complemented A Boogie’s performance. Bright, flashing stage lights lit up the stage, even as the rain continued to fall.

A Boogie moved actively across the stage, frequently pointing to different sections of the crowd and encouraging fans to sing along. The audience remained highly responsive throughout, singing back lyrics, raising their phones and dancing.

“A free concert following the Spring Fling festival creates the perfect opportunity to celebrate the year, listen to some good music, and connect with our peers,” Ryan Miller, SAPB’s concert chair and a senior majoring in English, wrote in an email. “The purpose of the concert is always just to provide students with the best experience possible to end the year!”

“As the semester comes to a close and students begin to prepare for finals, I hope students release some stress, have a good time, and enjoy the music of one of our favorite artists,” she continued. “The concert is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the end of the semester and have some fun with friends.”

Palmer explained what she hopes attendees took away from this year’s Spring Fling.

“I hope that students get that ‘final break’ before finals, one of the last weekends to enjoy themselves, a chance to go on rides with their friends and maybe feel like a kid again,” Palmer wrote. “I hope that our students tabling get a last hurrah with their org and maybe get some new members, that the student flea gets a chance to sell their merch and connect with the community, and that our volunteers get a chance to have fun and make a difference for the biggest event of the year. I hope that everyone involved has a good time and makes some memories.”

Editor’s Note (5/5): A previous version of this article used incorrect pronouns for SAPB’s concert chair. It has been updated with the correct pronouns. Pipe Dream regrets the error.