The Sikh and Punjabi Student Association held a night of cultural celebration and fun at its third-annual Punjabi Gala.

Held on Saturday, Old Union Hall was decorated with a large light-up sign that spelled out “Punjabi Gala” adorned with colorful balloons. The organization went with a sunset-inspired theme, as described by Jasmin Kaur, co-event coordinator and a junior majoring in biomedical engineering.

A lively mood was set with orange and purple strobe lights, and intricate lace umbrellas and candle centerpieces were on every table. A DJ booth played music throughout the night, keeping the energy up, and guests could take photos in a flowery photo booth or check out the boba cart provided by catering company Sip N’ Snack. Snacks, including cupcakes, macaroons and Gulab Jamun Kheer, a sweet rice pudding with a dough ball soaked in rose syrup and topped with pistachios.

“It’s our biggest cultural event, because it involves bringing North Indian culture to the campus, and it incorporates a bunch of different religions, because Punjab is a very diverse state in India,” Kaur said. “So even though we have the Sikh, which is the religion portion of it, we’re incorporating a bunch of different aspects and trying to bring as many people either that are Indian or not Indian together to have a fun night.”

Harshjeet Singh, the organization’s president, explained how this year’s gala was an important accomplishment for the newly chartered organization. This was the first time the event was completely sold out since SPSA was chartered in 2022.

“So the significance, honestly, is just to show people our identity,” Singh, a junior majoring in business administration, said. “When you look at somebody, like you look at a brown person, you’re going to characterize them as a brown person. You’re not going to say, ‘Oh, they might be Muslim, they might be Punjabi, they might be Indian,’ stuff like that, right? So this event just basically, we’re trying to portray the Punjabi aspect, the cultural aspect of this event. So to show the Punjabi culture, our hospitality, how we like to bring everyone together to try to have fun with everyone, anybody from any community.”

The evening started with an exciting entrance to introduce the E-Board members with a Dhol, a type of drum, and music and confetti. The night included performances by Binghamton Bhangra to a mix of traditional and modern songs, and a performance from Team SPSA featuring several E-Board members.

Guests also participated in several games, including a Panipuri-eating contest, an event where non-Punjabi guests tried to guess Punjabi words and a game called Head, Shoulders, Knees, Cup. Guests could also vote on superlatives like Best Dressed and Most Hype.

Dinner was served with rajma dal, a lentil stew with kidney beans and matar paneer, and a chicken tikka masala gravy with rice and naan on the side.

“I think this is the largest event that we have, and it’s a good introduction for a lot of students who either don’t know about the club or have been nervous to attend those smaller GBMs that we’ve had,” Kaur said. “I know for some of my friends, their first introduction to the club was attending gala last year, and now they’re on E-Board because of it — because they get to see what the club is about.”

“We explain who we are, what our beliefs are and what we’re trying to do on campus,” she added. “So it’s a good way for a lot of students, whether they’re Indian or not, even if they’re international students, to have a space on campus and know that there’s a lot of other people like them. Just because that’s an issue I had when I transferred here, where I wasn’t sure if there were other Punjabi people on campus, and now I’m friends with a lot of them, so it’s kind of nice.”

The DJ played modern pop songs, accompanied by the Dhol, and the night ended on a high note as the dance floor was opened to all guests.