Carnival 2015: The Next Chapter
From "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," your favorite childhood books will come to life on the Midway at this year's Spring Carnival, "Living Library." From April 16–18, Tartans and their families and friends will gather for Booth, Buggy, Bots and more during one of Carnegie Mellon University's most-celebrated traditions.
"We're highlighting books and what they mean to us growing up," said Carrie Weintraub (DC'15), student committee chair. "After all, Carnival is all about family."
This year, Carnival boasts more than 130 events and Thursday's kickoff will be capped with a literal bang by evening fireworks.
Carnival 2015 also marks 95 years of Buggy Races — aerodynamic pushcarts designed and built by students, the driver inside speeding up to 40 mph around a 4,400-foot course.
The celebration begins on Thursday with a revamped Buggy Showcase (previously Buggy Comp) and a presentation by Sam Swift (CMU'04, TPR'09,'12), founder of the Buggy Alumni Association. Festivities include an alumni panel, a cake celebration and for the junior champions, LEGO® buggy races.
On Friday, join the entire CMU community for a free lunch while celebrating campus sustainability at the Zero Waste All-Campus BBQ. Swing by the Robotics Institute Lab Tours and Demonstrations and the 21st Annual MOBOT (autonomous MObile roBOT) Races in front of Wean Hall.
The Midway will be hopping throughout the weekend with more than 25 "Living Library" booths, as well as tie-dying, cupcake decorating and Tartan swing dancing. (Don't forget to follow the build week action in real time via the Morewood Gardens camera.)
While enjoying the Midway, you can give back with a visit to the popular Dunk-a-Cop for Special Olympics, a spin of the Philanthropy Wheel or while casting your vote for best booth.
The kids can look forward to Saturday workshops — Bug Bots, Building Up! and Science Exploration — while a number of the 'bigger kids' will be exploring beneath campus. They'll be checking out the maze of utility tunnels on the Young Alumni Exclusive Steam Tunnel Tours.
Weekend entertainment will be plenty. Thursday's Comedy Show features HBO's Silicon Valley co-stars Kumail Nanjiani and Thomas Middleditch while the Carnival Concert band Matt & Kim (with opener RJD2) will perform on Saturday. Scotch'n'Soda will stage five performances of "Merrily we Roll Along," by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth.
Numerous colleges, departments, clubs and other campus organizations will be hosting alumni gatherings with two milestone celebrations. The Philosophy Department marks its 30th anniversary on Friday while the Information Networking Institute will celebrate its own 25th anniversary on Saturday with a keynote speech by entrepreneur Hooman Radfar (E'04) and two panel sessions.
CMU entrepreneurial talent will also be on display at Project Olympus Show & Tell 19 and Reception on Thursday evening.
For a complete listing of these events and all the rest of the fun, check out the new, interactive schedule created by senior Alex Stern (DC'15).
Are you a CMU alumnus in the Bay Area? If you can't make it back to Pittsburgh, you can still enjoy Carnival at CMU Silicon Valley's 5th Annual Carnival West, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, at Moffett Field, Mountain View, Calif.
Related Links: