Holiday carnival is back to bring joy

This Saturday Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Community Engagement Office is hosting their fifth annual Maverick Holiday Carnival in the Centennial Student Union ballroom.

The Carnival, put on specifically by the Community Engagement Office’s student group Mav Connection, has been going on since 2015, and is an opportunity for the campus to host community members and show off what we do. “We host carnival booths mainly for children ages 5-14,” said Karen Anderson from the Community Engagement Office. “We encourage kids, parents, grandparents and anyone else interested to come and have a great time.”

The Maverick Holiday Carnival was unable to be put on last year due to COVID, but Mav Connection is determined to make the most with the current restrictions in place this year. “Our game plan is to try and take precautions and not get shut down,” Anderson noted. “We really want to bring back the fun and togetherness we had pre-COVID.” The main thing the event wants from its attendees? Ensuring you are wearing your mask.

“Right now we are struggling for booths,” said Anderson. With over 350 people interested in the event after promoting it on Facebook, and through Boys and Girls Club, the Lunchbox Food program, and the Foster Youth Program, Mav Connection wants to ensure that there is enough for the community to engage in at the event. 

Groups already hosting booths include Teachers of Tomorrow, MSU Social Work Program, the Honors Student Body, Rec and Read, and ROTC, along with a few others. Anderson mentioned that if any other groups, teams, floors, etc. have interest in hosting a booth for the event, they can sign up on InvolveU until Thursday, December 2 at noon. 

“We typically have close to 30 booths, but this year we have less than 10. I think that since we didn’t have it last year, people forgot we were a thing, or are just busy due to the pandemic, which we understand. We have already had a couple groups say ‘Hey, can we step up?’ and would love anyone else that is interested,” Anderson said.

The Maverick Holiday Carnival runs from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 4 in the CSU ballroom. No registration is required, and free parking will be available. All children must be accompanied by an adult. 

For those interested, the Mav Connections student group meets on Thursdays at 4 p.m. in room 238 of the CSU. The group puts on service projects every week to contribute and give back to the community.