Packapalooza™ Returns to Pack Hillsborough Street

Enjoying some festive carnival-style food and beverages, playing games to win prizes, learning more about different campus organizations and catching a live concert are all great ways to wrap up the first week of the fall semester. 

At Packapalooza™, students, faculty, staff, alumni, families and the local community can do all that and more. On Saturday, Aug. 24 from 2-10 p.m., the annual block party and street festival returns to pack Hillsborough Street and cap off Wolfpack Welcome Week. 

Live It Up! Hillsborough Street President and CEO Jeff Murison called Packapalooza “the premiere street festival and event of the year.” 

“It’s a phenomenal showcase for the university, showing off everything that the university does and the students do all across campus,” Murison said. “It’s a great community builder because it’s a free, public event that has activities for all ages.”

A time-honored start-of-semester tradition, the all-day festival will feature live music and performances across multiple stages. The headliner will be indie rock/pop band The Rescues, and the grand finale will be fireworks over the Memorial Bell Tower. The band’s lead singer, Kyler England, graduated from NC State in 1998.

Packapalooza will have something for everyone. Hillsborough Street will come to life with over 300 vendor booths offering a variety of services, games, prizes, food, and more. 

This year’s Packapalooza will also include Improv Everywhere’s “The MP3 Experiment.” This is “a participatory audio adventure that allows participants to listen to synchronized, secret instructions via headphones and a smartphone app.”

Packapalooza festival goers will be able to participate in this experience before The Rescues’ closing concert in front of the main Belltower Stage. 

For NC State students, the event is an opportunity to cross a signature item off their NC State bucket list and make Hillsborough Street a key part of their college experience. 

“It connects the student population with Hillsborough Street in a way that tells them that Hillsborough Street is a foundation of school spirit as it connects to the community,” Murison said. 

Packapalooza is also a great opportunity for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community festival goers to explore the local businesses along Hillsborough Street. 

“From a merchant perspective, it’s phenomenal,” Murison said. “What I encourage our merchants to do is make repeat customers out of our student visitors that day. Sure, it’s great to make money that day, but the real goal is to make them repeat customers for the four or five years they’re at NC State and the lifetime that they’re an alum and keep coming back over and over again throughout their tenure here and once they’ve graduated.” 

As the annual festival draws closer, make sure your calendars are marked so you don’t miss out on all the fun! For updated information as the countdown begins, visit the Packapalooza website. If you’re interested in making this celebration a smooth success as a volunteer, register today.

Packapalooza™ is presented by Live It Up! Hillsborough Street.