Collegiate Times

The ordinary Commonwealth Ballroom in Squires Student Center will be transformed into a nostalgic carnival Saturday, with activities and games ranging from a moon bounce to an obstacle course, and even a sumo-wrestling arena.

The change will take place as the Virginia Tech Union hosts its annual Winterfest.

Winterfest will offer a wide variety of entertainment options and allow bonding between members of the Tech and Blacksburg communities.

Adding to the carnival atmosphere, VTU has also provided the opportunity for participants to personalize their own street sign or get their face painted, ways to show Hokie pride and community spirit while ESPN’s College GameDay TV show is on campus. There will also be free authentic carnival food including cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones.

One change to this year’s carnival from last year’s is the addition of a movie showing. “Megamind,” the film starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt and Tina Fey, will have two showings that day in Squires’ Colonial Hall at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

For additional entertainment, three student acappella groups — Soulstice, Naturally Sharp and Sensations — will be performing in the Commonwealth Ballroom, where most activities will take place.

Brandon Love, the director of the VTU Special Events Committee, said he is excited about this year’s Winterfest, and that the students and the community members will really “mesh well,” at the event.

The presence of community and university organizations may help this blending.

“We have student organizations and then organizations even off-campus that sign up. They are required to have some sort of activity,” Love said. “We let them have the opportunity to promote themselves.”

One unique aspect to this year’s event is the day it falls on: College GameDay’s appearance at Tech will culminate with the highly anticipated men’s basketball matchup between the Duke Blue Devils and the Hokies. Love said this will have a positive impact on the turnout at WinterFest as opposed to a negative one.

“We had an interview with the athletics department to try to collaborate with them,” Love said. “We have them kind of helping and we’ll also have volunteers handing out flyers about Winterfest so that at noon people come over here after
(College GameDay).”

A version of this article appeared in the Feb 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.