Carnival features new games, inflatable rock wall
Mathew Black overcame his fear of heights and scaled the inflatable rock wall at the Siblings Weekend carnival with a little help from his sister, Wyoming freshman Katie Black.
A new addition to the carnival this year was the giant inflatable “Tiki Island” rock wall that stretched almost all the way to the ceiling of the Student Activity Center gymnasium.
“I’m afraid of heights, so I was really proud of myself,” said 12-year-old Mathew Blake of Wyoming. “I did have to get a boost one time though.”
Mathew said he was having a lot of fun at the carnival and enjoyed the first half of the weekend with his sister. Other than conquering his fear, the highlight of his stay was that he got to stay up until 2:30 a.m. watching a movie, which was a huge change from his regular 10 p.m. bedtime.
The carnival has been part of the event since Siblings Weekend was first established in 1963. It has traditionally been the most popular event of the weekend festivities. From 2-6 p.m. on Saturday CMU students and their siblings gathered in the SAC gyms for the carnival.
An estimated 1,050 participants bonded over activities that included crafts, games, caricature sketches, a photo booth, face painting, crafts and inflatables.
Homer senior Chianne Jolly volunteered at the event and was excited to see all of the hard work that her—and the other Siblings Weekend volunteers contributed—come to life.
“My favorite part is seeing all of the kids that are here and our hard work of planning since November pay off,” she said.
Jolly said the "minute-to-win-it" games and the “Tiki Island” rock wall were new additions to the carnival this year.
Senior volunteer Samantha Johnson said they had more siblings register for Siblings Weekend this year than in 2014, so they were expecting a bigger turnout for the carnival. The carnival is the most popular Siblings Weekend event because it does not require a special event ticket, making it open to all participants.
Grayling senior James Jimenez and his 11-year-old sister, Susan Jiminez, spent Siblings Weekend together for the third year. The two competed in some of the minute-to-win-it games and picked out a rubber duck as a prize.
“We mark this weekend on our calendars,” James Jiminez said. “It’s something we look forward to every year.”
