Weeks before and after Halloween were filled with an array of fun and spooky events. Of the events that took place over the span of the previously-mentioned two weeks, Carnevil, Wesleyan’s Haunted Trails and A Little Taste of Halloween proved to be big hits.
The first of these events, Carnevil, took place on Oct. 28, and had a great turnout.
“The event went very well, and we had around 80 Marlins attend the event, including the 30 that participated in the costume contest,” VWU’s Student Activities Programming Coordinator Alaira Groomes said.
First held in 2019, Carnevil was organized for its second time ever this year, as COVID-19 cancelled it during the 2020 school year. Despite this, now that things are beginning to get back to normal, the event is on its way to becoming a new VWU tradition.
This year’s Carnevil was organized by members of Off the Hook partnered with a group of students from the Sports and Recreation Department.
“These students were instrumental in bringing this event to life,” Groomes said. “They took part in the planning, decorating and overall supervision of the event.”
Following the major success of this year’s Carnevil, students are hopeful that the tradition will stay alive in coming years.
Wesleyan’s Haunted Trails, put on by VWU’s Movie Crew and National Pan-Hellenic Council as well as volunteers, took place on the Friday before Halloween, Oct. 29.
“In total we had 120 guests show up and go through the trail, some of which were so excited about how it went that they ran back to the entrance,” student leader of Movie Crew Leilanie Sheppard said.
Before entering the trails, Cassidy Braithwaite, a student volunteer, offered tarot card readings, which added to the spooky atmosphere while
guests waited in line. At this point, students and guests were also given glow-in-the-dark necklaces that indicated whether they would like to be scared or not.
Upon setting foot into the trails, guests immediately entered Killer Lane, which was organized by Movie Crew. Following this first section, guests then passed into NPHC’s section, Zombie Graveyard. Along with these two themed sections, volunteer frighteners, gory props and fog machines were scattered throughout the trails, maintaining the haunted ambience for the trails’ entirety.
“All in all, the event went really well and getting to work with other student organizations and our Marlins was so much fun,” Sheppard said. “We are so very happy and grateful to be a part of the Marlin community and to have so
much support as the event would not be possible without everyone who helped with it.”
The organizations that made these events possible look forward to putting together some more events throughout the remainder of this school year.
Following both of the aforementioned events, and Halloween itself, Planned Parenthood Generation Action held A Little Taste of Halloween, a bake and craft sale, in order to bring awareness to reproductive rights and raise some money for local women’s shelters.
“All of the proceeds will be going towards a local women’s shelter to buy whatever is on their wish list,” student leader of PPGA Cassidy Braithwaite said. “[More specifically] we’re looking at partnering with the Samaritan
House.”
As a result of the huge success of last year’s similar bake and craft sale, PPGA decided to expand a little bit this year with a wider variety of baked goods and crafts. Held from Nov. 1-5, the sale offered traditional, vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free options in an attempt to be more
inclusive. To go along with the baked goods, A Little Taste of Halloween also sold beaded keychains and custom beaded rings. Everything ranged between $1 and $3.
Overall, all of the Halloween events held here at VWU proved to be successful with big turnouts and positive feedback. Be on the lookout for the many events left to come this school year, and keep these three events in mind when Halloween comes around again next year!
BY CAREY SEAY
clseay@vwu.edu
Image Courtesy of Connor Merk | Marlin Chronicle
