ADA Carnival

Hosting a carnival for two years in a row is an eye-opening experience. The sheer chaos of the first time made the planning of the second festival much more in-depth and thought out.  From the first spark of an idea to the finishing touches of decoration, scheming a community fundraiser is more than meets the eye. It's important to make sure there is nothing overlooked, not even the smallest detail. Failing to fill a small crack in the master plan could be the thing that's makes all of the work crumble. Last year, for instance, a few things could have been better.

The excitement could be felt by everyone in the room when Kati announced the proposal. We were all ecstatic by the end of that day, but as the weeks went on, closer and closer to the carnival, the reality of it all really settled in among us. People began to doubt, slack-off, and give up. They simply did not care to give the effort for something they thought no one would show up to. Even I began doubting if my work was really worth it. The reality came crashing down on us all the week of the carnival. It's safe to say Kati had very high stress levels during that time.

Thankfully, the advisors of the academy helped lend a hand or a gentle push where needed. Maybe they had doubts, too, but no one showed it. The students, on the other hand, had begun bringing in game supplies and mountains of prizes. I could forget about getting any work done, with all of us focused solely on the questionable day. The room was an utter mess the day of the carnival.

This year though, there was a much better plan. It felt much different approaching the carnival this time because of what we already knew decided to divide and conquered, each of the 7 heads taking leadership in one of the groups. These groups dealt with specific factors of the carnival, all equally important, though, in the success. I was the head of the donations and sponsorship group, in charge of getting item donations from companies and money sponsorships for money where it was needed. Personally, I think my group did a good job at the tasks I assigned and the system overall really took the weight off of leaders' shoulders and spread it equally on everyone.

This time, as the carnival grew nearer, we all stayed calm. Maybe we stayed too calm because, taking it slow as we were, the date crept up on us. By the time February came around, we had all but forgotten our carnival tasks. Not nearly ready enough, we made the decision to postpone. This had a massive effect on our confidence. It made the rest of the planning a drag. But, we continued planning, having meetings and assigning tasks, down to the last minute when the day finally came.

It was full of excitement and anticipation. We had really prepared, but thought as though we had missed something. Come night, though, the carnival flowed with ease. We were running the games and having a great time doing it. Personally, running the dunk tank, I saw a truly good time happening with all of the  people. Tickets were flying in faster than I could take them and there was never a slow moment. I was relieved by the success  of the night, but also a bit nervous, because then came the tell-tale moment.

Our goal was to raise 2,000 dollars for the ADA. Sadly, we did not reach that goal. The carnival raised about 1,500 dollars, around the same as last year. We were glad, though, about the success of the overall carnival. We gained lots of real-world skills, both that night and for planning it , and had raised quite a large amount of money, even if it wasn't as much as we wanted. Most importantly, we felt like we gave the community a fun time, and that's what a carnival is about.