One-story booth, two-story booth, red booth, blue booth. One of my favorite parts of Carnival is seeing all the different booths. The time and dedication everyone puts into making these miniature houses come to life is truly remarkable.
I remember when I learned about different Carnival traditions during my campus tour as a prospective student. With Booth, I was very confused by what exactly my tour guide was talking about. I remember thinking, “What do you mean they’re building houses in the middle of campus?” Like many traditions on this campus, I still don’t fully understand where they come from, but I still appreciate them. Booth is my HGTV — I don’t know what’s happening, but the finished product is always something impressive.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see the inside of all of the booths. My apologies to all of those whose booths I did not go into, but I was not going to wait in line in the rain. Regardless, I did admire all of the booths from the outside.
If I had to choose a favorite booth, I would have to say it is either the “The Muppets” booth by Fringe or the “Toy Story” booth by Kappa Kappa Gamma.
I love “The Muppets” in general. “Rainbow Connection” and “Man or Muppet” are always great songs to listen to. Personally, I feel a special connection with Beaker. Maybe it’s because I had a Beaker Christmas ornament when I was younger that was obnoxious and annoyed my siblings, or maybe it’s just because I’ve always vibed with him. Of course, we can’t forget the fashion icon herself, Miss Piggy — the original diva. The booth itself was what I imagined the inside of a house the Muppets lived in would be like. It was very homey, very Muppets. Animal had his drums with Red Bull cans for added energy, Miss Piggy had her dressing room, and Statler and Waldorf were looming above, as judgemental as ever. And I can’t forget about the fountain at the end — that was a nice touch.
“Toy Story” is great both as a movie and a booth. Even though it’s been years since I watched any of the “Toy Story” movies, walking through the booth, I felt like I was transported back into my childhood. Farnam on the spaceship was a beautiful touch to the booth. Before you left, you could even play with a magnetic Mr. Potato Head with interchangeable parts. The life-size crayons, building blocks, and iconic ball made me feel like I was in Andy’s room, with the light blue sky and bright white clouds above.
To recap some other booths I saw, the “Howl’s Moving Castle” by the Asian Students Association was stunning. Absolutely beautiful. The booth that I least expected was probably the “Sharknado” booth by KGB and PRISM. I haven’t thought about “Sharknado” in years, so to see it on Midway was quite a surprise, especially when there was also a “Jaws” booth by Delta Delta Delta. I’m a big fan of sharks, so I love the variety of representation that we had going on. As I walked into the “Wall-E” booth, by the Student Dormitory Council (quite literally because the booth was shaped like Wall-E himself), I was amazed by all the little trinkets and gadgets.
Alpha Phi’s “Barbie” booth made me feel like I was in a life-sized version of the Barbie dream house I had as a kid. The Mojo Dojo Casa House corner was a lovely nod to the movie. Delta Gamma’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” booth was the candy land of my dreams, and of course insinuated the dark twist that Willy Wonka would come out to get me if I touched any of the goods. Speaking of Greek life, I don’t know how people in Greek life do it. There’s Greek Sing one week, and then before you know it, it’s Move On.
The paintings and drawings on all of the booths were just fantastic. Truly phenomenal. I have no notes. Brilliant job all around.
I think I’ve waxed poetic enough about the incredibly talented people and organizations that spend so much time and energy on creating these booths that only last for a few days, but seriously, everyone deserves an A+ for their efforts. Tune back in next year, when maybe we’ll actually get to have Carnival without it raining the whole time!
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