Goodricke’s flagship summer event has returned for the first time as a full-scale festival since the pandemic.
Student bands filled the stage, with over 350 students enjoying the event that has been beset by challenges since GoodFest 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The event began in 2010 to mark the official relocation of the college to Campus East. Until 2020, it was a mainstay of the college calendar, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2022 in a smaller form; it was part of Freshers’ Week in 2023 and was cancelled due to low ticket sales in 2024.
This year the event has finally been revived to its pre-pandemic glory, situated between the Law and Sociology building, the Computer Science building and the School of Arts and Creative Technologies. Hundreds of students were seen soaking up the sun, relaxing on the grass and enjoying performances from student bands.
The Goodricke committee also partnered with Alcuin and Langwith committees, as well as the Glasshouse for drinks.
TechSoc, who arrived to set up at 10:30am, was handling the staging, lighting and audio equipment, after a partnership arranged by James Farrow, Goodricke’s Technical Officer.
Vision spoke to Zoe and Kiera, two first-year “massive music people” from Langwith. Despite not knowing the bands before they arrived, they said they were “impressed with the bands so far” and also enjoyed the face painting and bracelet stalls at the event, and would be “going Revs after,” after a partnership between the college and York Parties saw £3 entry tickets being sold.
Despite a few odd grumbles about drinks prices, the atmosphere was vibrant and supportive of all the students who had put time into setting up the event.
Goodricke President Owen Wilson emphasised the importance of strong community at yesterday’s event, saying his favourite part was “just seeing everyone being happy”. He said that while the committee had struggled with the reputation of the event, it was now “on the rise again,” and that the momentum was now there for future committees to continue the event.
Vice-President of Events Sara Babiak explained: “it’s been really fun and it’s been nice seeing everyone’s effort manifest into something really cool.” On the difficulties faced putting on the event, she said, “drawing inspiration from 2019 [it was] hard to live up to and revive. Obviously bringing it back has been challenging, but I hope the next committee will see it has been done,” stressing that she thinks future committees will now find it easier to continue.
Vice-President of Wellbeing Harvey Lister said: “everything here is student led, it’s good to see so many groups of students with the same motivation to make an event run well.” Sara added that the festival showcased the “beating heart of student life.”
The event was also attended by several stalls, including one selling work from illustrator Kai West. Aron Misiak, who was running the stall, said that he was enjoying the festival and the “hard chilling” that accompanied it.