For students looking for another reason to lounge on the quad, DePaul’s annual spring carnival created the perfect environment to temporarily forget about approaching finals. 

Hosted at the Lincoln Park Campus quad on May 11 by DePaul’s Activities Board (DAB), the carnival included  games, food, beverages and fun activities to be enjoyed by students. There were tables everywhere, with plenty of spots to enjoy the sunshine, sit and relax to chat with friends and have a picnic. 

Meredith Berkenstock, a freshman at DePaul, was enjoying her last month of freshman year.

“[College is] good, it’s fun, I love it,” Birkenstock said. “[The] quarter system is a bit to get used to, though. I heard about it [spring carnival] just now as I was walking by and wanted to check it out,” Birkenstock continued.

Brooke Traeger, DAB’s arts and amusement chair, is the student behind making this event happen.

“This is our second year doing it,” Traeger said. “Last year, it was a big success, but I wanted to change it up a bit,” Treagar said. “We had a giant slide last year, and it wasn’t a big hit, so we changed it to the hungry hippo,” Traeger continued.

There were many things to do at the carnival keeping students busy. The beverages offered were lemonade, water and soda. They had barbeque-style food such as hotdogs and chips. Students were scattered across the quad playing the games offered. Other students were sitting on the grass or benches talking and enjoying their company. 

“Last year, we had over 100 people show up to the carnival, and we wanted to do it again,” Traeger said.

Grace Samuel, another freshman, wanted to get involved and meet new people during her first year.

“It’s really fun,” Samuel said. “I like being in the city. I was walking past the quad and wanted to know what was going on, and I’m just waiting to play some free games,” Samuel continued.

There were about 20 students who were standing around waiting to play the hungry hippo and tic tac toe games. Students were pleased with the decision to bring these two games for this year’s carnival as they loved it and wanted to play. Everyone was in a good mood and having a fun time, which was the goal in the first place.

“It’s cool to get free food and free games,” Samuel said. “100% every day it’s good weather: it’s a good day,” Samuel continued.

Considering the consecutive years of student enjoyment, it is highly likely that the spring carnival will continue in the coming years. With a greater turnout this year compared to the previous one, the event is poised for growth and improvement.

“Students really like having food and free games, and it was even more of a success this year,” Traeger said.