It's No Myth, Carnegie Mellon's Spring Carnival Is Legendary

Booths, buggies and live entertainment — Carnegie Mellon University's 104th installment of Spring Carnival promises to be a magical weekend.

This year's theme, Myths and Legends, has been among the top 10 most suggested themes in past years and was last year's runner-up, said Spring Carnival chairs Hannah Koschmeder, a junior in business administration and statistics and data science, and Stephen Clark, a junior in computer science. Some of the booths will feature children's favorites like "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "Harry Potter," while others will feature iconic topics such as "Santa's Workshop" and "Titanic."

For the student organizers, and booth and buggy builders, Spring Carnival is a "yearlong event," Koschmeder said.

"It's pretty cool that Carnegie Mellon's biggest tradition is completely student-run," said Clark, whose first experience with Spring Carnival was during Sleeping Bag Weekend. Clark visited CMU as an admitted high-school student during Build Week, when the elaborate booths are built. He saw smiles on everyone's faces, decided to attend CMU and get involved with Spring Carnival.

"The chance to create something that is mythical and legendary and see it come to life with everyone else on board is amazing," Koschmeder said.

This year's Spring Carnival will debut Tartans Got Talent, a talent show in which students will compete for the grand prize of $1,000. The show will take place on Friday, April 20, and will feature special performances by alumni.

The Amphitheatre stage by the tennis courts will be back this year, but with more seating available. The stage will host comedian Chris Gethard at the Activities Board Comedy Show.

Other events not to be missed will be the Activities Board concert featuring rapper Wale, with an opening by DJ Shlohmo on Saturday, April 21. Wale's fun and energetic presence is something Concert Co-Chair and International Relations & Politics senior Simran Jagtiani knows people will enjoy whether they know his music or not. What is most fulfilling for Jagtiani and the other organizers, she said, is "being able to offer experiences like this to the student body, especially since academics are so heavy, and making sure people have the chance to enjoy themselves."

A proud CMU tradition since the first Buggy races in the Spring Carnival of 1920, this year's Sweepstakes Buggy Races will kick off at 8 a.m. on Friday, April 20. Before the races, participating teams will display their latest designs at Buggy Showcase at Wiegand Gym and "The History of Buggy" Showcase at Danforth Conference Room offers a fascinating glimpse into the races of 1968 and 1993.

This year's carnival will run concurrently to Reunion Weekend, which features the 1st, 5th, 10th, 25th and 50th reunions for the undergraduate classes of 2017, 2013, 2008, 1993 and 1968.

"Carnival is always a great opportunity for alumni to return to CMU in the tradition of carnival and see what's new at their alma mater," said Associate Director of Alumni Relations Laurel Bosshart Furlow.

The Alumni Association has many activities planned at the Midway Activities Tent, including a vintage photo booth, a massage station and daily giveaways.

The Midway Activities Tent also will showcase virtual reality projects by the students of CMU Hyperloop, as well as demos by alumni spinoffs Music Everywhere and Simcoach Games.

"Alumni take a lot of pride in the cutting-edge projects that happen at CMU," Furlow said, "and showcasing alumni achievements show that it doesn't just end when you graduate."

See the full schedule on the Alumni Association website.