Connect with us

The Sentinel

Friday fun with Cardinal Carnival

Features

Friday fun with Cardinal Carnival

Something special was going on. Children swarmed the Boys & Girls Club center in Post Falls. Their jubilant voices chattered a constant stream. One room hosted crafts, most of which sparkled and left glittery evidence. Another room presented a scene of peculiar activities such as skittles being scooted from one paper plate to another with a straw held in the children’s mouth and rows of water bottles being knocked over by children with balls held in the end of what appeared to be a long elastic sock-like tube attached to their heads.

The event was a Cardinal Carnival. The hosts were the NIC small group communication class students, and their enthusiastic participants were the children at the Boys & Girls Club in Post Falls. Even our own mascot, Cecil the Cardinal showed up for the event on Friday, April 8.

Tracy Struble, NIC communication instructor, required her students to plan, organize and put on the event as a class requirement. Students began planning for the event at the beginning of the semester.

“Seeing them [the children] having fun is rewarding,” said Scout Anatricia, 18, communications major. Anatricia helped with the organization of the event and was outside helping with the bean bag toss.

One of the lessons the class learned about planning the event is that not everything goes to plan.

“We tried to make it all structured, but it turned out to be more of a free-for-all,” Anatricia said.

The weather for the Cardinal Carnival was much nicer than expected, so the class decided to move many of the activities outdoors instead of in the gym.

Jake Kraut, 21, a business and communications major and also on the NIC soccer team lead out a group of kids in a game of soccer.

“My favorite part is seeing all the smiles on the kids’ faces and just letting them have fun,” Kraut said.

“They’ve taken ownership of the project and really taken over,” said Missy Gill, the volunteer coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club. “Having new faces and bringing in Cecil was really exciting for the kids.”

Many of the sparkling crafts were made just for Cecil by the boys and girls.

“I’ve just been hanging out with Cecil,” said Rebecca Demuth, 8, a member of the Boys & Girls Club. “I like crafts a lot and made a little thing for Cecil, but right now he’s resting.” In the meantime, she ran out to play the Nerf gun challenge.

“Now they [NIC students] can say they have accomplished working as a team in the community,” said Struble. The small group communications class and the Boys & Girls Club are both hoping that this is only the first Cardinal Carnival, and wish to make it an annual event from now on.

“I think it’s great,” said Gill. “We love developing partnerships with NIC and other community organizations to benefit the kids.”

IMG_4742 IMG_4754 IMG_4764 IMG_4770 IMG_4779 IMG_4781 IMG_4789 IMG_4800 IMG_4805 IMG_4812 IMG_4816

Hey! I'm Michelle, the Managing Editor for NIC's Sentinel. I love to read mysteries, write, ride horses (only the sane ones), and dance ballet. I was born in Music City, USA and have lived all across the U.S. Now I'm here, writing for the Sentinel. It's pretty cool, you should check it out!

More in Features

To Top