Written by Ella Fortine, Editor
Every year, Poly holds a carnival on campus to celebrate homecoming, and this year’s carnival did not fail to continue the tradition of fun, food, and games
Immediately following the annual parade where Poly students and families get to see the homecoming court nominees, Poly athletes, and class floats make their way down Central Avenue, the campus opens to the community.
Almost every club on campus participates in the carnival, each setting up a booth that offers something unique. Some booths offer a variety of food and drink specific to their club’s purpose. This year, for example, Asian Student Union had popcorn fried chicken, while M.E.Ch.A. had agua fresca. Food was also sold by a variety of local food trucks, which included burgers, Mexican food, and dirty sodas.
Other clubs host games that carnival goers can play for a chance to win prizes. This year there was even a prize of live goldfish for winning a bowling game hosted by Black Student Union. Games also included corn hole, a ping pong toss, water balloon throwing, and ring toss, to name a few.
Booths also offered visitors souvenirs that they could put together themselves to take home. Gardening Club allowed community members to make their own flower bouquets, Peer Educators had DIY slime, Amnesty let you create friendship bracelets, and Vindication Club took polaroid photos. These booths created the opportunity for carnival goers to have a physical memory of the day, and use their creativity to make something they’d love.
These clubs all put time and effort into making sure their booths are enjoyable and unique, and take the days before the carnival to prepare for their booth. This preparation can include purchasing prizes and supplies, making decorations that fit the club’s theme, or preparing the food and drinks they will serve. Club members help out with preparation or with running the booth on the day of the carnival, such as cutting flowers for Gardening Club or getting pied in the face for Link Crew.
Toward the end of the carnival, visitors got to enjoy performances of the Lip Sync Competition’s top five finalists. There were dances from National Honors Society, Jesters, Sports Medicine, Vindication Club, and Link Crew. After each group had danced and received much applause from the audience, the winner was announced to be Sports Medicine, performing to a medley of popular songs, which included “Beauty and a Beat” and “Baby” by Justin Bieber. Their win meant Sports Med would go on to perform their lip sync at the homecoming football game as pre-game entertainment, which Joan Sugimura (12) described as “such an exciting experience.”
Poly’s annual carnival has always been a way to show the community the passion, creativity, and fun of Poly clubs and activities, and this year’s accomplished that goal brilliantly.