The Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted its first event of the year, dubbed The Carnival, on Saturday, Aug. 31 from 2:30–5 PM. The Carnival, which was open to the entire Hamilton community and water-themed, featured inflatable activities, lawn games, and food.

For those new to Hamilton, CAB is a “student-run organization dedicated to bringing quality programming, including concerts, comedians, movies, and other special events to the Hill.” CAB has an Executive Board (E-Board), whose members hold leadership positions and serve as event coordinators, and a General Board (G-Board), which consists of volunteers who provide assistance to E-Board members by helping staff and run events.

At the beginning of the school year last fall, CAB hosted a similar carnival; however, it was not specifically advertised as a “water” Carnival. This year, the intention was to take advantage of the warm weather with a variety of water-centric events. There were several inflatable games, including a nineteen-foot water slide, an obstacle course, and a dodging game with a rotating arm. CAB provided cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn, and ice cream, and students played games like cornhole, kan jam, and spikeball. Students took advantage of water theme, with many wearing swimsuits, bringing towels, and enjoying the aquatic endeavors available.

Alexia Assimakopolous ’22 took appreciated the many activities offered and the warm weather. She said the carnival “had great music, weather, and vibes. It was super fun for the first weekend back on campus. I enjoyed all the bouncy activities, especially the one when you had to dodge the spinning arm.”

Kritihika Ravishankar ’22, CAB’s On-Campus Special Events Coordinator, arranged the event. Appointed to the position last spring, Ravishankar said the Carnival was her first organized event. All the bookings had to be completed by the end of July in order to secure the many activities and games.

When planning the Carnival, Ravishankar had a few goals in mind. First, she wanted to advertise and design it specifically with a water theme to capitalize on the sunny weather. Second, she wanted it to be a fun activity for first-years.

“I remember during my first weekend on campus feeling a little at a loss for what to do,” she said. “I wanted freshmen to have a fun activity during the day before all their assignments started to pile on.”

Finally, she wanted the event to appeal to all class years as a fun kick-off to the start of the academic year. Based on the turnout, it did just that. It was apparent that the Carnival attracted all class years, including first-years.

Patrick Fleischer ’23 said it was “a fun activity for the first weekend at school.” He also thought it was “a good way to spend time outside in the warm weather.”

Theo Karavolas ’22 also enjoyed the Carnival.

“A bunch of my friends and I raced in the obstacle course and dodged the spinning arm,” he said. Karavolas suggested that maybe for Class & Charter Day, CAB “could have some similar water activities.”

According to CAB, the turnout for the water-themed Carnival means it will likely become an annual event that all students can look forward to in subsequent years.