Fall Carnival, a festive food fair

Annual fall carnival returns as part of homecoming

The vibrant sun shines down as the smoke and the smell of barbecue race against each other to see which one the attendees notice first. The long Boulevard begins to get crowded, a line of hungry customers formed behind a booth, waiting to purchase a dark, flavorful and delicious turkey leg. Music blasts from the speakers and intertwines with the conversations being heard from everyone all at once; elevating the atmosphere at the annual fall carnival at Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK).

Hosted on Oct. 12 by Campus Activities Board (CAB), the fall carnival is one of TAMUK’s homecoming traditions, held for the entire community of Kingsville to enjoy.

“I think [fall carnival] is important just so we give everyone a chance to do some fundraising and be all together,” Executive Director for CAB Carmela Martinez said. “This event allows us to see the students, faculty, staff and community come together and enjoy the night, the Javelina spirit.”

Martinez explained that CAB structured the entire event a month in advance. They had to prepare the policies, pick out venders, reserve the boulevard, hire the DJ and make sure all student organizations who reached out were ready.

This event gives student organizations the opportunity to fundraise. Each organization set up booths and sold a variety of food, beverages and even dog treats. Other student organizations had activities set up for everyone to enjoy.

“I wanted to give our organization an opportunity to make a profit and get our name out there in a positive outlook,” Vice President of the Pro-Choice organization Briana Beltran said.

Not only does this event help organizations raise money, it also allows them to promote themselves to anyone who may be interested.

“We are giving some of our portions of the profit to The Purple Door and we also just wanted to raise money for our organization since it is brand new,” Beltran said.

Beltran believes CAB did a great job sponsoring and organizing the event as well as promoting it on their social media.

Student organizations brought the goods, people in attendance bought the goods. Everyone benefited from this event; it was a universal experience for all who were there.

“I for sure recommend [that more events like these get hosted on campus],” senior Krystin Kilbourn said. “All these events are super fun, it’s a good way to get all the Javelinas out here to interact with each other and make new friends.”

Anyone who was walking around the buzzing boulevard got to see people dancing in the grass to the songs the DJ was playing. Fall carnival is one of the many events held by TAMUK in which the entire community comes together and enjoys each other’s company.

Before the night began to wrap up, the 2021 Homecoming King Trenton Payne and Miss TAMUK Jacqueline McClendon announced the individuals who got chosen for the homecoming royalty.

“My favorite part about tonight is seeing everybody enjoy the fall carnival and getting selected as a top five candidate and advancing [in the homecoming court] which is amazing,” junior and Homecoming King contender Antonio Rosenbaum said with a smile on his face.

Rosenbaum said feels great to be selected to advance in the homecoming elections. He is no stranger to this event as he has done this before.

“You just have to work hard and have fun with it,” Rosenbaum said.

The fairy lights turned on after the sun bid everyone goodbye. The booming speakers slowly faded away until the only sound that was heard was of tents being lowered and students packing up their belongings. Individuals went home with full stomachs, empty wallets and a happy heart. The once crowded boulevard cleared up, leaving nothing but good memories behind.