11th annual Carnival to return Friday

Though the sweet aroma of carnival foods and strobing lights have yet to overtake the C1 commuter lot, the gears are in motion for this year’s Late Nite Carnival.

This is the 11th year Late Nite has hosted a carnival, which is running a week earlier because of Easter. The Carnival is free to attend for Ball State students that bring a student ID, but guests, faculty and staff will be charged $5 for admission.

By Friday, a full transformation of the commuter lot will be complete with rides supplied by  Poor Jack Amusements, a family owned company that started as a pony ride operation back in 1944, said co-owner Gary Bohlander.

The Carnival will have an assortment of 16 rides, with basics such as a Ferris wheel and bumper cars. But it also will have the Rock O’Plane, a carousel and a scrambler called the Sizzler, which are the original thrills dating back to when Poor Jack Amusements added rides in 1967, Bohlander said.

Entertainment, activities and games will complete the event.

“We will have music going all night, and we will have several bands coming in,” said Alicia Fitzgerald, assistant director for programs and Late Nite adviser.

Live performances will include “America’s Got Talent” semi-finalists Reverse Order and Ball State’s all-male a cappella group Note to Self.

Deep-fried and battered food, Mexican cuisine and other options will be available for $4 or less. There also will be free food like popcorn, cotton candy and Pepsi, Fitzgerald said.

“We work really hard to make sure there are free things for students,” she said. “So you can easily come to Carnival and not spend anything.”

Carnival goers will be able to have their faces painted and to get balloons shaped like animals for free. This year, Late Nite added fireworks to the program.

In the past few years, the Carnival has seen heavy sleet, snow and rain. At last year’s Carnival, Late Nite organizers said 5,140 students attended during the winter conditions, and 2012’s rain date saw a crowd of 6,300. In a  2013 Daily News article, the publicity coordinator at the time, Kelsey McPheeters, said the event had suffered because of the weather and a normal year would bring out around 8,000 students.

On Friday night, there is no chance of rain with a low of 43 degrees, according to The Weather Channel. The rain date will be Saturday, and Late Nite will announce the time.

What sets the Carnival apart from other Late Nite events is that planning starts the following days after the previous year’s Carnival ends to ensure that everything is ready for next one, Fitzgerald said.

“It’s Late Nite on steroids,” she said. “It’s definitely much bigger and takes more planning [to get] different vendors, [to get] a lot of different things that we don’t necessarily do or think about for a normal Late Nite [event].”

Fitzgerald said the Carnival is part of the Ball State experience, providing a tradition for students to talk about and remember. It also provides a way to forget about the stress of the upcoming Finals Week.

“I think at this point of the semester, students are really itching to do something,” she said. “We had a really long winter this year, so we’re all really wanting to get out.”

Check out a Q&A with the co-owner of Poor Jack Amusements by clicking here.

Click the map or here for a printable version.

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