Syracuse University’s annual Winter Carnival celebration will kick off on Monday in the Schine Student Center, with the goal of getting students involved in campus activities.

Winter Carnival, a weeklong festival dating back to the 1930s, is sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and the Traditions Commission, both of plan and execute the event. The planning for Winter Carnival begins during the fall semester. The Traditions Commission comes up with some new ideas every year, but ideally aims to bring back old favorites so students know what to expect.

“We try to keep it consistent from year to year so people know what Winter Carnival is and keep coming back,” said Lauren Chilcott, secretary and public relations chair of the Traditions Commission.

Chilcott said the aim of Winter Carnival is to “try and keep students involved on campus, especially during winter when no one wants to do anything.”

There’s no big theme this year, just “come out, beat the winter blues, get involved and do something,” added Sarah Ross Cappella, an associate director in the Office of Student Activities.

The week’s events will begin on Monday and Tuesday with “Winter Carnival Days” in Schine. Students can stop by Schine between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for free cookies and popcorn, a photo booth and prize giveaways. On Wednesday, a trivia night will be held at 8 p.m. in Schine. Tickets are not required, but Ross Cappella suggests arriving early as trivia night is popular among students and sells out fast.

“Once we reach capacity, that’s all we have,” Ross Cappella said. “We’ve been doing it now for 3 or 4 years and it’s growing every year. People really, really look forward to it.”

Ross Cappella is one of those people. For her, trivia night is the best event of the week.

“I love trivia night, I really do. People walk in and they’re like ‘Oh this is so cool,’” Ross Cappella said. “It’s this atmosphere and this energy that’s just awesome.”

Following trivia night is the annual chili cook-off, which will be held Thursday morning at 10:30 on the Huntington Beard Crouse patio. At 8 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium, SU a capella groups will perform for Cozy Capella, an a capella show performed entirely in pajamas.

On Friday, Zamboni Revolution, SU’s own improv comedy troupe, will be performing at 8 p.m. in the Schine Underground. This year’s performance features two guest troupes from Upright Citizens Brigade, a New York City-based improvisational theater.

“This is the first year we’ve done a show with Traditions Commission. It’s going to be really funny,” said Jay Kling, Zamboni Revolution president. “And the people from New York are really, really talented.”

The week wraps up in Schine on Saturday with a viewing party for the Syracuse men’s basketball game at Duke. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. There will also be laser tag at 8 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium.

“The laser tag is super cool because people get so into it,” said Chilcott, the secretary and public relations chair of the Traditions Commission. “It’s a great time. I think that one is my favorites.”

Published on February 23, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Brigid: brkenned@syr.edu