Kitty Karnival brings families to campus
Members of UK’s Theta Chi fraternity guide a child as he attempts to pin the bowtie on the Wildcat during the Student Activities Board’s Kitty Karnival in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, October 21, 2014. Photo by Cameron Sadler
October 22, 2014
By Olivia Cornett
Children and their families from all around Lexington gathered at the Main Building Administration Lawn from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the UK Student Activities Board’s Homecoming Kitty Karnival.
UK faculty and staff were encouraged to bring their children to participate in activities like a dunk tank, photo booth, pie-in-the-face station, face painting, ring toss and lots of candy and food, said anthropology sophomore Ava Corwin, who was the event chair.
SAB also sent out a message to local elementary schools, inviting them to join the fun, Corwin said.
“Last year, we had about 200-300 people come to Kitty Karnival, but this year we are definitely predicting more since we advertised to the local schools,” Corwin said.
Kelly Hobson and her husband, both UK graduates, bring their son every year. Hobson said her mother–in-law, a UK employee, was the person who told them about the Kitty Karnival.
“This is actually our fifth year coming out,” Hobson said. “We’ve done it every year since my son was born just because he loves it so much. His favorite part is definitely the donuts and candy.”
Kitty Karnival involved campus groups from Greek organizations to DanceBlue.
One of the events that drew lots of attention was the Pie-A-Pi-Phi table, run by the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Sallie Mackin, a marketing junior, spent the evening getting pies in the face.
“I don’t really mind doing it because I can be involved with homecoming and put a smile on the kids’ faces,” Mackin said. “The whipped cream is actually really cold, though.”
Another event was the petting zoo, where kids circled around waiting for a turn to pet the animals. A small cage was set up with animals such as goats, llamas, donkeys, sheep and even a micro pig.
Most of the tables that were set up had activities for the children to do and candy for them to put in their trick-or-treat bags afterwards.
Callie Zaino, a communication disorders and Spanish senior who helped with the ring toss, said she has been involved with the Alpha Delta Pi table at Kitty Karnival since her freshman year.
“I love being able to help the community of Lexington while being able to bond with other organizations on campus,” Zaino said.
