DalFest rocks the quad

DalFest returned to Dalhousie University on Friday, Sept. 5 with performances from Drag Race Canada winner Priyanka, platinum-certified hit maker Rêve and headliner BBNO$.

The event began at 8 p.m., and by 8:30 p.m., the line stretched from the Chemistry Building to the Chase Building. On the Dal Quad, students teemed with excitement, waiting to see their favourite performer. 

Hudson McDonald, a first-year Dal student, came to the festival to see “the guy on TikTok, BBNO$.”

BBNO$ wasn’t the only performer the crowd was eager to see. DalFest opener Priyanka amped up the crowd by inviting several students on stage to dance with her troupe. 

Among them was Abby Colette, a first-year Dal student. She says she was chosen after holding up a message on her phone that read, “Can I please get onstage?” 

“I was eating down,” Colette said after her spontaneous performance.

Priyanka also invited Kareina Cadel, Dal’s manager of student experience, on stage. 

“I’m a big Priyanka fan, and I often listen to her music,” she says. “She pointed to the crowd and said, ‘Who knows this rap?’ and I was like, ‘I do.’”

Next thing Cadel knew, she was up on stage.

“I was not mentally prepared, but it was great,” she says.

Although the concert was only open to Dalhousie students, a handful of Halifax residents still gathered outside the venue to catch a glimpse of the performances. 

Emma Leeshanok, a Dalhousie alumna, wasn’t eligible for tickets because she isn’t a current student. However, she came to campus to see BBNO$.

Despite not being able to get into the venue, Leeshanok says that the event seemed “chaotic.” 

“I feel like they did a really bad job of getting people in; there’s a line around the block,” she says.

First-year student Sophia Estoesta said she was looking forward to seeing BBNO$ and added that “Priyanka is kind of nostalgic because I used to watch her on YTV.” 

Next year, Estoesta says she would like to see Tate McRae perform at DalFest. 

“She’s Canadian and puts on a performance,” she says. 

Some first-year students say they’ve spent a lot of nights in the quad since the semester began on Sept. 2, using it as a space to let loose and meet new people. 

Matthew Richards, a first-year Dalhousie student, says his nights spent on the quad have been his favourite university experiences so far.

“I’ve seen a dude take belly shots out of a girl,” he says. 

First-year student Sophie Wood, however, described nights at the quad as “low-key mid.” 

“People have just been kind of weird there, I’m kind of hyped for it to get more normal as the year goes on,” she says.