For the past six years, the Whitworth University Recreation Center has hosted the Winter Carnival, which is a free community event packed with games, food and prizes. 

The Director of the U-Rec, Todd Sandberg, first got the idea when visiting another college campus a few years ago. From there, the seedling of an idea flourished into a fan-favorite event with around 300 attendees last year. 

For this year, Sandberg and fifty student employees planned the carnival for Friday, Nov. 11. Sandberg explained that, through the event, he is inviting students to engage with the U-Rec. Most of the games were to help students become more active. 

“The whole idea was to try and figure out something where, at least for a night, we can say, ‘Hey, everyone being active is more than your preconceived notion, right?’” Sandberg said. “We just want to have fun.”

Campus clubs and programs were invited to help with carnival festivities. One such group was the Health Advocacy Team, who provided smoothies alongside other concession items. Raffle tickets were available for small and big prizes, including the grand prize of a $100 Amazon gift card. 

From 7-10 p.m. on Friday night, students decompressed from college stress with a whirlwind of wintry fun.