It's April, it just stopped raining for the first time in a week, and it’s cold. That must mean it’s time for Spring Carnival. It's the time of year during which the campus community comes together for a weekend of building large structures and rolling small women around in even smaller cars. The Carnival Committee and the Activities Board (AB) set up a schedule of events this year to be staged primarily on the “Midway” in the Morewood Gardens parking lot.

The Midway officially opens Thursday at 3:30 pm after the opening ceremonies at 3 pm. This year, Carnival will open two hours earlier than last year. Carnival’s theme is “To Be a Kid Again,” with the booths ranging from the Taiwanese Student Association’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go” to Sigma Phi Epsilon’s “Sesame Street.” Booths will be open when the Kiltie Band begins playing on the main stage.

On Friday, booths will open at 11 am, at which time the battle for the best booth commences. In each of the divisions — independent, sorority, and fraternity — there is tight competition between last year’s winners, as well as some new groups.

For the independents competition, the top three spots have been rotating between the Asian Student Association (ASA), Fringe, and the Singapore Student Association (SSA) for the past few years. All of these groups have promising themes: ASA with “Secret Hide Out,” Fringe with “Light Brite,” and SSA with “Birthday.” It should be interesting to see how their booths turn out.

The competition between the sororities has always been tough. Last year, the top three spots were taken by Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Zeta Psi Sigma, respectively. Each year, the sorority competition is marked by wonderfully built booths and fierce commpetition between all five of the sororities. Keep your eyes on each of these booths because you never know who will win.

There has been tight fraternity competition between Delta Upsilon (DU) and almost every other fraternity in prior years. Last year, DU wowed us with their rendition of an assembly line; the year before, they impressed crowds with their “Universe.” This year, DU has built a tribute to Peter Pan, but will it be enough to beat out Kappa Delta Rho or Sigma Phi Epsilon, the second and third place winners from last year?

If you are looking for fast cars, make sure you attend the buggy races on Friday and Saturday. The races start at Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall at 8 am, with the track going around Flagstaff hill on Schenley Drive and finishing up on Frew Street near noon. Will Pi Kappa Alpha keep their first place position in the men’s competition, or will Fringe take their position at the top? The same rivalry is present in the women’s competition, with Fringe, who came in first last year, and Pi Kappa Alpha, who took second place. Watch out for Beta’s womens team — though disqualified last year, they finished with a better time than Fringe.

A design competition will be held Thursday in the Univeristy Center from 9 am – 2 pm, where people can see the buggies while judges vote on the most innovative designs.

The winners of booth and buggy design will be anounced at the awards ceremony on Saturday from 5:30 to 6:15 pm, when the winning groups march off with their awards held high.

If music is your thing, there will be many concerts throughout the weekend. Thursday, there are many acts coming on and off the main stage on the midway, including AUTO at 5 pm and comedian Mitch Hedberg at 8:30 pm. Friday is filled with music, starting right when the midway opens with Downside and going right until N.E.R.D. plays on the CFA lawn, rain location the UC gym, at 8:00 pm. Acts include some University-based bands, such as Idiot Boyfriend and The Girls, and some national bands like Amy Speace and the Tearjerks, playing on the main stage.

Saturday offers no fewer options, with the music again starting at 11 am and continuing until 9:30 pm. Check out the main stage for acts such as the Soundbytes, Joyful Noise, over an hour of improv from the No Parking Players and Off the Top, and the hyped one-time reunion of Dirty Weekend. The UC gym will be holding one event, Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G-string at 7 pm.

Throughout the weekend, Scotch’n’Soda will present its annual Carnival play. They will have four showings of the famous musical Cabaret; the showings are Thursday at 5 pm, Friday at 7 pm and 12 am, and Saturday at 7pm. Tickets are $5 with a Carnegie Mellon ID and $7 without. For prime tables close to the stage, there is a $2 additional charge. Tickets are available at the UC Information Desk.

AB and Carnival have more events on Saturday going well past the closing ceremonies. These events include more concerts, a night market, and an art sale where students will sell dinner, dessert, and art pieces in the UC.

It's going to be a warm and sunny weekend, which is rare for a Carnival. Visit the booths, cheer on your friends pushing buggy, see great music, ride the carnival rides, and eat funnel cake. Don't miss the fireworks show above the IM fields at 9:30 pm Saturday night.

4/15/04 Correction: This article originally identified The Fringe's booth as "Candy Land." The organization's booth is "Light Brite."

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