The Undergraduate Student Government Association’s fourth annual Fins Festival took place on March 23 from 4-10 p.m. on the Bill Gessner Sports Complex. Despite the heavy rain earlier that day, many students came out to enjoy the carnival.
“We wanted upwards of two to three thousand. The rain really put a damper on it. I would say 1000 to 2000 people came,” said Kyron Defreitas, senior business entrepreneurship major who helped plan the festival. “As the night went on, more people started to come. They were like, ‘the rain is not that bad.'”
COURTESY OF JAROD JOHNSON
Fins Festival attendees enjoy a carnival ride.
New rides offered this year included The Cyclone and High Rollers. Food choices included cotton candy, popcorn and corn dogs. Admission, rides and food were free for the NSU community.
“There was a lot of options for everyone to do, but I really liked the basketball game. The food choices were amazing, so with all that, I will definitely go in the future,” said Javed Chadee, sophomore psychology major.
Last year’s Fins Festival took place at the overflow parking lot adjacent to the Athletics Building. Holding it at the Bill Gessner field this year allowed for more rides and open space between rides.
“The space allowed us to do a lot more. It allowed us to get five to 10 more rides. It allowed us to do more carnival games,” Defreitas said. “It allowed space. Last year, it was very clustered.”
This year was the first with a zipline. Its weight limit of 180 pounds left some students feeling left out.
“I saw the weight limit and immediately knew that I couldn’t do it. They should not have had something that not everyone can do,” said Carisha Pacheco, sophomore biology pre-nursing major.
This was also the first year that only NSU students, faculty, and staff could attend the event.
“The guest policy affected the event a little bit, because people still want to go to it. Kids [pass] a carnival and want to see it,” said Defreitas “It affected the numbers a little, but, at the end of the day, it was still amazing to see all the NSU students and graduate students all collectively come together.”
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