The second annual St. Jude’s Carnival, hosted by the Free Hugs Club on Thursday, May 1, had the same goals as last year’s fundraiser: to raise money for the St. Jude’s Research Hospital and to allow students to participate in a fun event. The carnival “adds this extra feeling of accomplishment when everything works out,” senior and Vice President Kaitlyn O’Hagan said, regarding the success of this year’s carnival.

The event this year included games, food, performances, raffles and tournaments. Upon admission, students and teachers received four game tickets, three food tickets and a slip for people to vote for best performance, along with the list of events. Those who wished to play more games or eat more food were allowed to buy additional food tickets at two for a dollar, game tickets for four for a dollar, and raffle tickets two dollars each or three for five dollars.

It took a 24 person advertising committee, consisting of club members and non-club members, as well as a 46 person setup/cleanup/food committee to pull off this year’s carnival.

“We divide up the work to make it more manageable and organized,” O’Hagan said. “Everyone recruits members of the club to help out with their specific assignments, and mostly through emails, breaks down the large amount of work that needs to get done.”

The club teamed up with Amanzi Tea, Portobello’s, Baluchi’s, and Jamba Juice for food and refreshments, and Terry’s, Barnes & Noble, and Carl Philly’s Cheesesteaks for gift cards as raffle prizes.

“For the most part, Stuyvesant students make loyal customers to all the local businesses we went to and ask for help, and when we explain what we are doing, the goal we are trying to accomplish,” they offered their services, O’ Hagan said.

“It was a great way to thank our patrons for maintaining business with us. It’s a token of appreciation,” Portobello’s manager Carlo Cilio said. “It feels good to get all the attention.”

The Free Hugs Club also received support from club advisor Angel Colon, Principal Stanley Teitel, Assistant Principal Randi Damesek, Coordinator of Student Affairs Lisa Weinwurn and the Student Union.

Games included Balloon Darts, Can Smash, Tic-Tac-Toe Rug, Ring the Triceratops, and Baseball Bean Bag Toss. Junior Kristi Truong participated in the Tic-Tac-Toe Rug, and Lucky Ducky games. While she lost some games, “the concept seemed easy and fun,” Truong said. Later on audiences watched a variety of tournaments, ranging from Dance Dance Revolution competitions to arm wrestling.

There were also several performances from Stuyvesant students and clubs throughout the two-hour carnival. Truong also watched sophomore Farihah Mridha singing Jordin Sparks’ “One Step at a Time.”

“It was a really good performance, but the feedback from the microphone was a hindrance,” Truong said.

Sophomore Della Chu, a member of the Free Hugs Club and A Cappella, sang in the A Cappella performances. “We had practice three to four days a week and we reviewed the songs we sang at Barthfest,” she said. “It was a success. A lot of people showed up to sing.”

Freshman Rebecca Chan chose to go to the carnival because “it was for a good cause” and the event took place on a Friday, she said. Some teachers also promised to give extra credit to those who attended the carnival.

But most students felt that that the carnival was worthwhile whether or not they got credit. “You kind of had fun anyways,” Chan said. “I didn’t go for the extra credit.”

Though the carnival was undoubtedly a success, Free Hugs Club members did find some areas for improvement.

“We sold a slightly smaller number of tickets and had a slightly smaller turnout.  We also didn’t have as many volunteers for performers, we didn’t have as many members of the Stuyvesant community make food,” O’Hagan said. “But these are things that could be attributed to the fact that the carnival was later in the year this year, or on a Friday instead of a Thursday.”

But O’Hagan has high hopes for future carnivals. “Because the majority of the administrators are seniors this year, we’ve tried really hard to build a strong base of underclassman, first and foremost being [sophomore and treasurer] Lipi [Thaker] and [sophomore and secretary] Marsha [Kononenko] and they’ve done a great job, so I think next years carnival can only be better and more successful,” she said.