Before college I hadn’t even heard of Spring Weekend. It was a new, scary, and interesting idea that intrigued me to the fullest. UNH had ours this weekend. From what I’ve been told and from my own experiences this weekend, if you missed it you made a “big mistake…huuuuge,” as Julia Roberts once said. There were a ton of things that I didn’t even know we could have in a school parking lot.
Setting up for the Carnival started around Wednesday when Campus Police asked students to begin clearing their cars out of the parking lot. From then on, it was a mystery until the comedian’s show Friday night when show-goers were able to get a glimpse at the rides as they walked up to the gym. The rides consisted of a Ferris wheel, a Strawberry spinning ride, Tilt-A-Whirl, the Yoyo (more commonly known as the swings), a Carousel, and the Ali Baba (also known as Aladdin).
Being there made me feel like a little kid again, it was great! Luckily, I was able to get on the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Aladdin, after quite a bit of time in line. The lines were one of the downfalls to the Carnival, but it was free so I grudgingly accepted the lines. Rides first, food later was the ultimate plan.
The Tilt-A-Whirl was a ride that is almost indescribable. It starts off slow and speeds up as the ride goes, but to add to the speed the cart that one is in starts spinning wildly as it goes in a bigger circle. Needless to say, once one gets off the ride, it is necessary to stop and try to get your head on straight before attempting to walk any further.
The Aladdin had the same after-effect, but the ride was completely different. It was a gondola shaped seating area that had a motion similar to the Pirate Ship, but at a different angle. It started like a pendulum, making it seem as though it was gaining speed on its own and wasn’t attached to any gears.
After getting off those two rides my best friend and I had the chance to mix our own slushes and get some popcorn. We then proceeded to wait in the line for Fried Dough and Fried Oreos for about an hour, but by the time we got to the front, it was almost closing time and there was only enough dough for 16 more dough circles. We were the 20th and 21st people in line.
Even though we didn’t get the dough, the carnival was great. There weren’t only students and guests at this carnival, but also many West Haven residents from around campus, some professors, and a man on stilts. On his stilts, this man stood over seven and a half feet tall! I give him credit for walking around on those sticks for four hours.
Now, one would think that’s all it takes to make a carnival, right? Wrong. There were several different tables where one could get free items from SCOPE and massage chairs to take the stress off of us students before finals. There was even a bounce agility course, a Rockwall, and a balloon animal maker at the carnival on Saturday. If you missed out this year, try your best and come next year.
