One week ‘til Carni! Here’s what to expect

It’s hard to believe it, but one week from today will mark the official start of Winter Carnival! Winter Carnival is a celebration beloved by many: students, area residents, staff, faculty, alumni, and so many more. This year’s theme will also delve into the depths of our memories, with thoughts of favorite television shows like Spongebob, Phineas and Ferb, or The Flintstones: “Our favorite cartoons for snowy afternoons.”
Though many things this year are different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Key Honor Society has done their best to create a spectacular Winter Carnival that follows safety and health guidelines. Curious as to what that will look like? Keep reading for a rundown of this year’s Winter Carnival events.
The famously grand month-long snow sculptures are well underway, and student groups across campus are preparing their designs for the upcoming All-Nighter. Alumni are even getting in on the fun this year, with a new Alumni Snow Statue Contest, which began Jan. 1 and will end on Jan. 31. All-Nighter applications are now closed, but you can still get in on the fun by taking a walk through campus after the sculptures are complete. Not to mention, we’ll probably be walking past them on campus from now until whenever Heikki Lunta (the Finnish snow god and a famous U.P. mythological legend) decides to stop blessing us (or cursing us, depending on who you ask) with cold weather and snow.
Snow Soccer and the new Winter Carnival Trivia event took place Jan. 24 and 26, respectively. Up next for participating groups is curling at the Calumet Drill House and Snow Volleyball, which both will happen Saturday, Jan. 30. Also taking place on Saturday, at 7 p.m., will be online board and card games. The games will be hosted on cardgames.io and playingcards.io, and to register, email bkevents@mtu.edu.
For those of you that signed up in December, Hairy Tales skit preview submissions are due Sunday, Jan. 31. If you’ve grown a wild beard or created a wacky hair design, this is the contest for you! Email your video submissions to bkevents@mtu.edu. Final submissions for the Hairy Tales competition are due Feb. 5 at 12 a.m. to the same email listed before.
Broomball will officially start Sunday as well, with a puck drop at 10 a.m. at the broomball rinks. Games will continue to go on through Winter Carnival. The All-Nighter statue building contest will start at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Registered groups should receive information from Blue Key on where their statue location will be. While All-Nighter typically showcases different student groups offering food for sale, that will not be the case this year due to health concerns. Statue judging will take place the following morning, as All-Nighter ends at 9 a.m. Feb. 4.
For those of you who don’t find standing in the cold all night building a snow sculpture to be your cup of tea, MUB Board will be hosting a Karaoke Night from 8 p.m. to midnight during the All-Nighter. Masks and social distancing will be required, and this will happen on campus Wednesday, Feb. 3. Three lucky contestants will walk away with a large prize, courtesy of MUB Board.
Also new to Winter Carnival this year is a Photo/Art Contest, which is open to anyone who would like to submit their art pieces. This contest is open but not limited to: drawing/painting, photography, sculpting, cosplay, and more. Each piece will then be judged by the community.
Tug of War, Downhill Skiing, Human Sled Dog Race and Snowboarding will all take place Friday, Feb. 5 at the Recreational Sports Fields and Mont Ripley, respectively.
To “rap” things up, (aha, see what I did there?) a virtual rap battle will also be taking place via video submissions.. Entries must be posted to YouTube, and links must be sent to bkevents@mtu.edu before the deadline of Feb. 6 at 12 a.m. Entries will be judged on the creativity of the performer, along with presence, delivery, bar Structure, diction, rhyme schemes, and wit. Videos must be two minutes long, and the lyrics must match the theme of Winter Carnival this year.
For a full list of Winter Carnival events, check out Blue Key’s website here. However you decide to spend your 2021 Winter Carnival, remember to stay safe, have fun, and wear a hat to cover your ears — it’s cold out there!