‘Keeping Up With Karnicus’: 94th annual Carnicus to be held April 18

REAGAN DESOTO Staff Writer

The 94th annual Carnicus event will be held Tuesday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Auditorium. Hosted by the All Campus Events Committee, Carnicus is a choreographed comedy skit competition open to all organizations big and small at no cost. Greek life organizations make up the majority of performers but any sort of school registered club or affiliation is able to participate.

Beginning in 1929, Carnicus was the combination of the spring student circus and the student carnival, which used to be two separate events. The carnival would consist of vaudeville performances and skits put on by students, while the circus would feature clowns and comedians, as well as an organized dance.

Carnicus is a themed event and each year, performances must be crafted in relation to the given category. Over the last four years, performances have revolved around topics like “Fractured Fairytales,” “Let The Games Begin,” “The Final Rose” and “Y2Karnicus,” with this years theme being “Keeping Up with Karnicus,” an ode to reality television.

“I wanted to give people an opportunity to get creative with reality TV because there are so many different shows that people don’t really know about … I thought it was a good opportunity for people to widen their range because everyone watches TV and everyone has a different style of TV that they like to watch and I’m pretty sure everyone has seen at least one reality TV show,” Carnicus coordinator Gracie Hinton said.

The event allows participants to show off an array of talents, whether that be music mixing, comedy, acting or dancing. Hinton enjoys the event because it’s more than just a comedy show. It’s an experience that encourages creativity in all sorts of ways.

“So many different people have different things that they are good at, like the director, the people writing the skits, are probably good at creating something for someone else … there are so many different realms. You might not have to be good at performing something, but you might be good at writing it or putting the music together, so it gives so many different people the opportunity to do something they enjoy,” Hinton said.

Former Phi Mu Carnicus organizer Avery Witt appreciates the event for the way it brings people together and unites them under a common goal.

“I love Carnicus because it brought everyone out of their shell. In my memorable experience, I witnessed the event bringing women from two chapters, Phi Mu and ADPi, together to practice for weeks in a setting we otherwise might not have found ourselves in. We all played different roles through leading, acting, writing and were able to showcase seemingly hidden talents to one another … we laughed together, and to me, that is the pinnacle and recipe for friendship,” Witt said.

ACE is also responsible for a handful of other events around campus, including All Sing and several homecoming competitions. All events, including Carnicus, lead up to the ACE Cup which recognizes the most outstanding organization that has been competing throughout the various competitions.

Registration to participate in Carnicus is open until Sunday, March 26 with a mandatory meeting being held on April 3 in the Student Union in room 362B.