The Mississippi State University campus was brought to life Thursday night with a carnival and live music to kickoff homecoming weekend.
The Student Association held its first Homecoming Carnival in the parking lot of the Newell-Grissom Volleyball Arena. The event featured food trucks, face painting and other traditional carnival festivities.
Many of the carnival goers waited patiently to ride the Ferris wheel which promised a spectacular view of the MSU campus. However, not all riders were giddy about the heights. Meredith Brock, a senior biological engineering major from Madison, said she was initially apprehensive about the ride due to its height.
“We just kept on going higher and higher and higher, and so we were getting a little scared at first,” Brock said. “Once we started going, we got more lax and it was very nice and relaxing to watch everything.”
In partnership with SA, Dance Marathon hosted a Dunk Tank in order to raise money for the children of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The Le Bonheur Children’s hospital is responsible for seeing over 80,000 emergency department visits per year ranging from the ordinary bumps and sniffles of childhood to its most life-altering extremes.
Savanna Boyd, a junior psychology major from Meridian, and one of the morale co-directors for Dance Marathon, said thinking of the children they were helping made the cold plunge worthwhile.
“After I dipped my little toe in, it was extremely cold,” Boyd said. “But we are doing it for the kids, so it made everything better, but I am getting a little bit of hypothermia.”
In addition to the dunk tank, Boyd said Dance Marathon was also able to raise roughly $7,000 for the children of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. She also said there will be more events coming up including a fundraising event at McAllister’s.
As for the overall carnival experience, Boyd said that it was awesome.
“My four years here, I’ve never seen anything like it, or been to one like this in Starkville,” Boyd said. “I think it’s a really fun atmosphere, a fun thing that [the Student Association] put on.”
As the festivities of the carnival died down the crowd in front of the MSU amphitheater began to grow in anticipation for Beta Upsilon Chi’s annual Island Party concert. The Island Party concert benefits the Palmer Home for Children located in Columbus, which helps underprivileged youth succeed in academics and life.
The Palmer Home utilizes a comprehensive approach when it comes to mentoring children from lower socioeconomic situations. The “Whole Child Initiative” focuses on four main characteristics: physical development, emotional healing, educational support and spiritual growth. According to the Palmer Home website this approach allows caregivers to support vulnerable children through a trauma-sensitive approach.
The Island Party’s opening act Sam Mooney is a local artist from Brookhaven, who is a senior civil engineering major at the University of Mississippi. Mooney said he enjoys performing at BYX’s Island Party for MSU students and Starkville locals.
“It was awesome. We love playing in Starkville,” Mooney said. “It’s really one of our favorite places to play. We try to come here several times a year if we can to do shows and they’re always a great crowd.”
After Mooney’s performance, the stage at the outdoor amphitheater was electrified by pop-alternative band COIN.
Will Maxwell, a junior mechanical engineering major from Franklin, Tennessee, and a member of BYX, said that BYX was very excited to bring in the group.
“They’ve been really big outside of the area, so it’s great for us to expose everybody around here to them,” Maxwell said. “They’ve got great music.”
All concessions sold at the free concert directly benefited the Palmer Home. Mooney said he finds immense value in helping raise awareness for a great cause which has a direct impact on the local area.
“One of the most rewarding things is being part of benefit concerts,” Mooney said. “Letting people get in on that, and bringing awareness to it, it’s awesome and it’s great to see everything and full with people who are going to hear about what the Palmer Home is doing.”
Maxwell believed the event was a win for everyone involved. Maxwell said he was excited not only for the exposure of Sam Mooney and COIN to those in attendance, but also to help the Palmer Home.
 “We’re really excited to be able to bring this exposure to them and donate the money to them,” Maxwell said.