TCU students closed out the 2022 spring semester with activities, free food and tunes in the Campus Commons at the Frogstock festival.

Frogstock is an annual end-of-year tradition on campus. The first festival happened in 2008 and has only been canceled once in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rachel Anne Hopper, director of Housing & Residence Life, is one of the founders of Frogstock. Hopper said the festival serves as a relaxing end to a long semester of classes before finals week and students' journey home begins.

"This is an opportunity for them to have this final hurrah to their experience as a collegiate student and moving into finals," Hopper said. "So we're just super excited that we get to provide something that's fun, engaging and they get to connect with their peers that they've been spending time with all year."

Students who attended Frogstock enjoyed being able to unwind and have fun after a year of hard work.

"Everybody's coming out here," said Cassie Steffen, a sophomore fashion merchandising major. "We have a mechanical bull and music, so I just thought it'd be fun."

"It's a nice way to start to decompress," said Matthew Boon, a senior music and physics double-major. "Things aren't done yet, but it's a way to balance things out a bit."

"I think it's a really good way to end out the year," said Lucia Reynolds, a sophomore communications major. "Hanging out with my friends and just sending the year off in a good way."

Although music performances are a staple at Frogstock, it hasn't always been a part of the festival. Hopper said the planning committee added it several years ago.

"It's been exciting to see how students are engaging in [live performances] and utilizing it as a form of showcasing their gifts to their community members," Hopper said. "I have loved being able to see that be a component that has been engaged in the program."

TCU students perform all live music at the festival, giving them a chance to get a taste of what it's like to showcase their talent in front of a large crowd.

Keagan Cunningham, a first-year entrepreneurship and management double-major who played his guitar and sang covers at Frogstock this year, said he has never performed in front of a huge audience that was there for him. He treated this gig as an opportunity to prepare for more live performances around Fort Worth this summer.

"Getting immersed now is good," Cunningham said. "I'll be able to do that at Frogstock and just get a feel for it. It'll be good."

Junior entrepreneurship and innovation major Ryan Witte, another Frogstock performer, was eager to get back on stage and play music for the first time in a while.

"I haven't played on stage in probably a couple years," said Witte. "So I'm just excited to get out, be on stage and perform. To be able to go up on stage and just hang out and play some songs- just to be able to do that is a lot of fun."