So, and as I presumed, I did in fact feel very old.
I had walked through Packapalooza near the end of the day in years’ past, but I hadn’t ever gone during primetime. Holy shit this thing is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. While I don’t know how to count crowds, I would guess that there were tens of thousands in attendance.
Some observations:
- While there was a tent set up to register voters, there really wasn’t much happening politically. Given that this is a presidential election year, I sort of expected more. There was one tent for a single local political race (sorry, I can’t remember who). All in all, it was refreshingly void of political division. However…
- There were a lot of churches represented in their respective tents, but none of it felt really pushy. There was (and always is) that one guy holding up his sign about going to Hell as he walked around. Like usual, it looked like everyone was just ignoring him. And…
- There was one tent that was selling homemade food/snacks to raise money for Palestinians. That said, it too was pretty low key and non confrontational. All in all, I was glad that the event didn’t have any sort of protest vibe from any side of the political spectrum.
- As expected, there were lots of vendors there to sign up students for bank accounts, cable service, etc.
- Like any outdoor fair, there were people hawking t-shirts, homemade candles, and any other junk that people might buy. I saw a lot of students walking around with small potted plants for their dorm rooms but I didn’t see where those were being distributed.
- Fraternities, campus clubs, individual colleges, and Wolfpack sports were all represented. There was even this giant tent that was dedicated to anything artistic from singing groups, performance arts, and even the on-campus art museum.
- There was a corral of food and drink vendors, and folks were allowed to drink beer within the confines of the entire street fair.
- There was a MainStage for music and events. I am guessing most of that was for the evening, but I was gone by then.
- The university had tours that I attended. One was the Hallowed Places tour that explored the 7 that are on the main campus. I took that tour but left early to attend the final indepth tour of the Bell Tower.
- The Bell Tower Tour was terrific and I recommend it to every State alum. You learn more about its history (most of which I already knew), and you get to go inside of it to see its renovation. I had never been inside, as I understand it was a shit show until the renovations were complete a few years ago. As the oldest alum on my tour, I was given the privilege of unlocking and opening the door. The tour was hosted by Dr. Tom Stafford (retired vice chancellor of student affairs). I’m not saying he’s old (he is), but he was vice chancellor of student affairs when I graduated NC State.
- Lastly, I went to Talley to have Howling Cow Ice Cream before walking home.
@dtraleigh feel free to move this to another topic if you like. I am just following up here because it was requested that I do so.