Tuesday evening, families from Starkville, West Point and Columbus filled the Junction for the Student Association’s 41st annual Costume Carnival from 5 to 7 p.m. with a showing of the movie “Monsters, Inc.” afterward. 
This event included inflatables, pumpkin decorating, a parade and booths with games and candy. It was followed by a free showing of the movie “Monsters, Inc.,” which was also held in the Junction. 
Lauren Iupe, co-director of special events on the Student Association Cabinet and sophomore elementary education major, said in an email the event was a huge success with over 1,000 people in attendance.
“We invited all of the local schools, day cares and churches to come to the carnival,” Iupe said. “It’s an event not only for the students of Mississippi State, but for the entire community. Children, parents, grandparents and so many more attend this event.”
Children were encouraged to come in full Halloween attire, and with over 7,000 children invited to the carnival, costumes ranged from minions to princesses to Duck Dynasty characters.
Katelyn Jackson, junior poultry science major said her favorite part of the carnival was seeing the kids dressed up in costumes.
Booths at the carnival, which were hosted by 47 student organizations, held a wide variety of games and passed out candy. 
 students, and each creatively designed a booth for the carnival.  
The Transfer Student Association was one such organization. It allowed children to do arts and crafts by creating a variety of Halloween creatures, such as ghosts or spiders, out of children’s handprints. 
Brandy Davis, senior communication major, said her organization wanted to do something different than having a game for its booth. 
“This is something that the parents can have as a keepsake for years to come,” Davis said. 
The carnival not only brought kids to campus to get candy and play games, but also allowed participating organizations a chance to become more involved in the local community. 
Hallie Smith, president of the student affiliates in the Department of Psychology and graduate student studying psychology, said her organization constantly serves children but usually in a classroom setting. She said this event allows organizations to interact with the community in a festive setting as a group. 
“We each work in different areas within the Department of Psychology, so we do not usually get a chance to hang out. This event brings us together to have fun as a group,” Smith said.
Iupe said the SA will continue to put out this free event for may years to come because it is a great opportunity to reach out to the community and has always been a huge success. 
“This is a day where people of the community can come onto our campus and have fun,” Iupe said. “It made all the hard work worth it seeing all of the children run around in their costumes with a huge smile on their face.”