The Greek Alumni Carnival will take place this Saturday, Oct. 8,  from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Prassel Lawn as a part of the Alumni Weekend festivities. It will include a variety of games, refreshments and a silent auction benefiting the Fisher House, as chosen by the Greek Alumni Advisory Committee

While the focus of the event is on Greek alumni, is open to the Trinity community.

“I think last year it was primarily actives and alumni from the Greek community, but this year we have advertised it a little bit more to first-years and potential new members as well as faculty and anyone else that would like to stop by,” said Jeremy Allen, coordinator for fraternity and sorority life.

The Fisher House is an organization that provides housing to military families who are in town for a veteran receiving medical services. They provide an affordable or free place for veterans and their families to stay, as well as rides to and from the hospital and other health services.

“It’s a cause that’s really near and dear to my heart, as well, I know, a lot of other Trinity students,” said Rebecca Prager, co-chair of Greek Council.

The silent auction will be located at the center of the event and will feature a variety of unique items.  Each Greek organization will submit two or three items to be auctioned off at the Carnival.

Allen explained this year the auction will focus on homemade, Greek-life specific items that can’t be replicated.

“You might have really old throwback Gamma jerseys, or the Kappas are offering to remake any old jersey that’s out of circulation; so if I wanted my jersey re-made I could donate “˜X’ amount and they would re-make it for me,” Allen said. “We’re trying to make it more specific to the organizations, things that alumni would enjoy having as kind of a relic, a reminder of their time and their affiliation with their fraternities and sororities.”

Surrounding the silent auction on Prassel lawn, there will be a variety of carnival attractions. Each one is sponsored by at least one Greek organization.

Events include games such as Sumo Wrestling by Phi Sigma Chi and Alpha Chi Lambda, a bungee run by Sigma Theta Tau and Omega Phi, Cornhole by Bengal Lancer and Chi Beta Epsilon and Giant Pong by Gamma Chi Delta and Chi Delta Tau. If attendees are not feeling competitive, they can always visit the puppy-kissing booth put on by Zeta Chi.

There will also be food and refreshments available: Kappa Kappa Delta is hosting a Barbecue Tailgate and the Delts will have a Snowcone booth. Beer will be provided free of charge for guests 21 and up with a valid ID as a part of an informal beer tasting.

There will also be a pie-throwing sponsored by Iota Chi Rho and a dunk tank by SPURS.

All of these events will be free of charge, although some may involve fundraising.

“I told the SPURS [last year] if they raised $25 for the charity that I would get dunked in the dunk tank. And so they cheated and went straight to Dr. Anderson and he donated whatever the amount was, and I got up on the dunk tank,” Allen said.  

Samy Abdallah, alumni chair of Omega Phi, expressed that the carnival can be a great way to learn more about Greek life history.

“You get to meet a lot of alumni from other organizations, and just get to know the history of their organizations and how things have changed from maybe like the “˜00s, “˜70s, “˜80s to now,” Abdallah said.  

This year marks important anniversaries for some organizations: Kappa Kappa Delta is celebrating 30 years since its founding, the Bengal Lancers are celebrating 60 years, Gamma Chi Delta is celebrating 55 years and Phi Sigma Chi is celebrating 20 years.

“We had some alumni from the late “˜90s, and we also had one of our alumni, Tom Smith, who came “” he was in the fifth pledge class of Omega Phi, so he was in Trinity in the mid to early “˜80s. So it’s a good mix of grads,” Abdallah said.

Students and alumni who are interested or planning to attend are encouraged to visit the Alumni Weekend Greek Carnival Facebook event page.