There was no end to the festivities during the Caribbean Student Association’s (CSA) carnival The E.N.D: Energy Never Dies.
The carnival featured big names within the Caribbean dance community, such as Trinidadian soca artist Patrice Roberts and Jamaican dancehall duo RDX, performing alongside student groups.
The event was held to raise funds for the CSA. More than 400 tickets were sold at a price of $20 per ticket at the door for Binghamton University students or $15 on pre-sale.
Alicia Johnson, a member of the CSA E-Board and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said that she was happy with how the event turned out.
“[The E-Board and I] think that this event was a great start and great reminder of what Carnival used to be over the past 30 years on this campus,” Johnson said. “We hope that this event will be the first of many more years to come.”
Carnival, a more than 30-year-old CSA tradition, includes dance music, Caribbean food and feathered and beaded costumes from Trinidad and Tobago.
Energy Never Dies also featured a number of student groups performing alongside the outside musicians. Student groups like Quimbamba, the Latin dance performance group on campus, and the Black Dance Repertoire also attracted large crowds. Additionally, local radio station WJOB 93.3 FM had a table out front as it supported its own DJ HypeMan Mike.
A step team from SUNY Albany traveled to Binghamton to put on a show as well. Organized C.H.A.O.S, a competitive and performance step team, has opened for acts in the past such as Rihanna, Steve Harvey and UniverSoul Circus.
Attendance started out slow with people slowly filing in for the first hour of the show, but quickly picked up, reaching into the hundreds. Organizers were pleased by the number of concertgoers.
“We hope that every year we get more people and that the CSA continues to grow,” Johnson said. “We hope that we can bring Carnival back in a whole new way that people really like.”
CSA puts on a number of events throughout the year; however, this was its biggest one for the fall semester. During the spring, the club traditionally puts on a culture night featuring a pageant called Caribbean Queen. This event is yet to be scheduled, but is traditionally in February.