Sunfest: For Students and By Students
The students behind Bennington’s favorite event
Those gravitating toward Sunfest 2024 in the first few minutes after it started could hear the cheers before they saw the crowd.
As the second song of the festival began, new arrivals saw two teams locked in a good-natured match of tug-of-war on the backside of Commons lawn. They saw students—in summery outfits, some accessorized with warmer items to protect against the chill of the heavily clouded sky—relaxing on blankets spread out in the grass.
Only then, around the newly unfurled leaves of trees, did they see the stage, where alum band Aggie Miller played to an exuberant crowd of dancing fans at the End of the World.
Sunfest was my favorite part of last year, and I am really enjoying it this year as well,” said Wren Van Deusen ’26, who studies animation, and who was sitting on a blanket with friends. “Just seeing everybody in the same space in the daytime is just really lovely. The community aspect of it is really fun.”
The sentiment is well represented among students; Sunfest, which was held on Saturday, May 11, has been Bennington’s marquee Student Life event since at least the 1970s.
“I knew little of Sunfest prior to my arrival in my first year as a student, but was quickly informed of its importance,” said Assistant Director of Student Engagement Jack de Loos ’22, whose Sunfests as a student at Bennington were diminished by the COVID pandemic. “Transitioning into working at the college, it became very important to me as well as the students on the Programs and Activities Committee (PAC) to rebuild this event in a manner that welcomed all and held space for everyone.”
Attendees see “a day filled with off-campus bands, good food, activities, and community,” said de Loos. What attendees don’t see is just how much work students on PAC put into making the event happen.
Weaving a Community
“This is the community loom,” explained Zee Camp ’26, as they sat in front of a big loom under a tent. They are a member of the PAC. As a part of their committee work, they organize regular “low-key crafty” events, like the bi-weekly “Stitch and Bitch” at Roz’s. They also helped organize Sunfest by collecting artwork, making posters, and offering this community art project.
Visitors to the tent were weaving strips of cloth that had been donated by faculty and staff into a colorful tapestry. “We’ve already had quite a lot of people come through,” they said. “I take the work off the loom at the end of the day, and it’s something that we can put up as student art.”
Next door was the merch tent, where the festival goers lined up to buy one of several student-designed t-shirts for $5–20 each on a sliding scale. First-year visual arts and curation studies student from Costa Rica, Rey Cordero ’27, submitted her design for the festival poster and t-shirt and was selected as the main artist. She was surprised but delighted to have been chosen.
“I had to make multiple designs into the same vibe,” she said. “It was really fun.” Of Sunfest, her first, she added,
I think it’s a really chill vibe and a really safe place where you can dress [however you want] and be whoever you want to be. That’s something I appreciate.”
Other tables offered art and other creative goods or services for sale—like handmade pottery, fingernail painting, original Spiderman stickers, and a custom Bennington-edition Cards Against Humanity deck, for instance.
“I am a big fan of all the vendors. I like seeing people’s art and what they are selling,” said Van Deusen.
A few tables were devoted to providing information on migrant justice or other social causes. A silent protest, featuring a Palestinian flag and a sign that read “All Eyes on Rafah,” hung at the back of the stage.
“We are privileged to not only celebrate together but to continue our day-to-day lives,” said de Loos. “The students who organized Sunfest, as well as myself, feel it is our obligation to use that privilege to show support and solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
Behind the Scenes
Ahmed Shuwehdi ’25 and Cyrus Vella ’26 did a lot of organizing to collect vendors’ names and set up tables. They also negotiated with, prepared, and hosted the bands—including headliner Eastbound Jesus. They even clean up throughout and after the festival. “We make sure everyone shows up on time and everything runs smoothly,” said Shuwehdi. “We work on this all term.”
It’s a crash course in producing a music festival. Shuwehdi learned about how to communicate and fulfill the needs of the “backline,” all of the cables and connections the musical artists need to go on. “If there is a cable that is shorter than it should be or longer than it should be, it ruins the whole song,” Shuwehdi said. He and several other organizers have produced Sunfest for a few years. They are getting better with experience. “Last year, the grass was a little wet, so some of the cables didn’t work,” Shuwehdi said. “This year, we learned from our mistake; we tarped all the cables, so they run well.”
Senior Muhammad Ammar ’24 has worked Sunfest for three years. He took a break from his post at the merch tent to share his pride in the event and in the efficiency the student planners have developed over the years. He gave props to Shuwehdi and Vella, especially, for their hard work. With a touch of early nostalgia, Ammar said, “This is everybody. Everybody shows up. This is the closest we come to an all-college event. It’s really beautiful at bringing everyone together.”