The Student Association Programming Board held its annual Fall Fest last Thursday on the Peace Quad, featuring a student flea market, live entertainment and a scavenger hunt.

Marked by hanging paper globes and continent-themed tents, “World Tour” was this year’s event’s theme. Students grabbed a passport from one of the SAPB tents and collected stamps from the seven continent-themed tents on the Peace Quad for a chance to win merchandise and other prizes. Merchandise included a white mug with red lettering that read, “Fall Fest 2024 World Tour” below a gridded red globe.

The student vendors, however, seemed to take the event by storm as attendees crowded around each table selling unique clothing, jewelry, baked goods and much more.

Kookie Krush, a bakery tabling at the event, sold quirky baked goods, including matcha madeleines, pistachio cream-stuffed chocolate chunk cookies and earl gray cube cakes. A few tables down stood Irek’s Raw Honey, which gave out free samples of natural honey, one of which was infused with Sicilian chili pepper.

Katie Zieno, a sophomore majoring in English, advertised commissions for pet portraits at the event and shared how they created their brand.

“I just thought it was a unique and personal gift that a lot of people would like and appreciate,” Zieno said. “I’ve found since I’ve started that people will spend obscene amounts of money on their pets. So it’s a lucrative business.”

Zieno’s table was decked out in green tablecloth and featured several examples of colored pencil portraits they’ve created.

Stellar Human, a local vintage store, was among the several secondhand tables at the flea market and sold their iconic 80s-esque knit sweaters, vintage jackets and long skirts. Other second-hand stands sold clothing reminiscent of the late 90s and early 2000s — each having crowds of students waiting to sift through endless racks and $5 bins.

Handmade jewelry and hand-knit clothing are seen frequently at similar events. Aaliyah Hong, the creator of Aaliyah’s Jewelry and a junior majoring in social work, said she always tables at the student flea markets. Hong’s jewelry making started as a hobby in her junior year of high school and transformed into a business that began on Depop and flourished through student vendor opportunities at BU.

All the while, students sat in groups on the lawn beside Lot B as performing arts organizations charmed the crowd with distinctive sets. The lineup consisted of MODA, Treblemakers, MajorNoir, The Binghamton Crosbys, Note to Self and Quimbamba with each performance ranging between 15 to 40 minutes long. One of the Quimbamba performances featured two sets of dancers performing a salsa routine. Red lights shone on the stage, accenting the dancers wearing orange fringe dresses.

Melina Imbert Almiron, Quimbamba’s senior advisor and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, described her involvement in the organization.

“I love being on Quimbamba and any opportunity I get to perform, I am always down to do it,” Almiron wrote. “Quimbamba is one of the ways I am able to share my love for my Hispanic culture and plus I’ve been dancing for years so it’s a fun hobby of mine. By watching our performances I hope students get curious and eventually try out for the team because it’s definitely an amazing experience.”

As the sun set over campus, student performances came to a close, and vendors packed away their products, marking the end of this year’s Fall Fest.