Old-school carnival fun

The last Friday before finals is always an eventful day. Classes are done, only finals are left

and…Courtyard Carni is taking place. This year is no different.

On Friday, May 7, Courtyard Carni will be up and running from noon until 5 p.m. in the Assisi Courtyard or the Mathy Center if weather becomes a problem. Courtyard Carni is a spring festival put on by the Student Activity Board (SAB).

This year’s theme will be an old school carnival feel, so look for the advertisements to have a retro carnival air to them as well as the prizes and booths to play into the theme.

Ellen Kammerer, a senior English major from Prairie du Chien, Wis., and president of SAB, told Lumen what students can expect this year for activities at Courtyard Carni.

“We have a caricature artist coming in, as well as four different inflatables,” Kammerer said. “We have a lot of clubs setting up booths with games. We have lawn games to play such as ladder golf and bags. We will be having two bands play later in the event, including Cardiac Radio. We will also have mini golf, a rock wall, and a root beer tent. Then we have awesome prizes this year, including a huge TV, a Wii package, and a variety of baskets that include items like a Garmin GPS and gift certificates that range from 10$ to $50.”

SAB decides what will be at Courtyard Carni each year through a club vote for each item. SAB also uses student input from a survey that students take. This survey gives SAB feedback on what students liked and disliked about Courtyard Carni. 

Catrina Mayer, a senior English major from Prairie du Chien, Wis., and member of SAB has been participating in Courtyard Carni for four years.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Courtyard Carni,” Mayer told Lumen. “It has been both fun and interesting to see the changes in the entire event throughout the years, depending on who was in the club. A lot of personality goes into the planning and organization of the event and how the event turns out is a reflection of the people in SAB.”

Courtyard Carni has undergone some significant changes over the years that it has been around.

“In previous years, there was a beer tent, but to follow Viterbo’s example of promoting alcohol free events, SAB did away with the beer tent,” Mayer said. “This year, however, SAB is featuring a root beer tent to kind of hearken back to the time when there was a beer tent, but instead there will be root beer served to keep with the alcohol-free policy.”

Along with the root beer tent, there are numerous changes to improve Courtyard Carni from last year. In the past few years, SAB has decided to bring in a theme to the event that relates to activities at Courtyard Carni. For example, last year Courtyard Carni had laser tag; to promote the laser tag, small laser points with “Courtyard Carni” written on them were handed out.