Spring Carnival staying put in Morewood parking lot

Last year's Spring Carnival was momentous for two reasons: it was the 100th Spring Carnival and supposedly the last year the celebration’s hub would be located in the Morewood parking lot. Now, the latter is no longer true.

Booths, carnival rides, and the Main Tent for the 101st Spring Carnival will be housed in the Morewood parking lot due to delays in construction of the Tepper Quadrangle, according to Coordinator of Student Activities Tim Leonard.

Utility lines were to be placed underground in the spring to accommodate summer construction, but the work will not begin before April now, Leonard said via email.

Leonard announced at a February town hall meeting that the 101st Spring Carnival, to be held from April 16-18, would be tentatively relocated to areas around the College of Fine Arts when construction of the new facilities in the Morewood parking lot began. Leonard said Booth would be relocated to the CFA parking lot, while the Main Tent would be relocated to the CFA lawn. The rides would be relocated to the CFA lawn and the Mall.

Spring Carnival Committee Chair and senior information systems and business administration double major Carrie Weintraub said via email about the earlier announced relocation, "The location was tentative but the most likely option was the CFA lot. That is what was determined most viable, and consequently, what most of the planning went into.... At this stage in the process, we did not feel comfortable making the move unless absolutely necessary. We plan to use this year to further our understanding of what the move will entail."

Leonard said that it made more sense, both logistically and financially, to keep the hub of Spring Carnival in the Morewood parking lot over other locations for as long as possible.

There are currently no plans to move any events or attractions, including Booth, Buggy, the comedy show, concert, or rides, from their 100th Spring Carnival locations for the 101st celebration, according to Weintraub and Leonard.

”I think most of the organizations will be very happy that we are staying on Morewood," Weintraub said. "However, I do believe that moving Carnival to a location like the CFA lot would present a lot of exciting opportunities for a very cohesive, centralized Carnival."

David Tepper (GSIA '82) donated $67 million to Carnegie Mellon for the construction of the Tepper Quadrangle in November 2013. Dean of the Tepper School of Business Robert M. Dammon said at the time of the donation that the construction would not break ground until the summer or fall of 2015, and will not be completed until “optimistically the fall of 2017, more likely 2018.”

Other locations considered by the Spring Carnival Committee for Booth, the Main Tent, and the carnival rides include Gesling Stadium,the East-West Walkway, the fourth floor of the East Campus Garage, Margaret Morrison Street, areas surrounding Doherty Apartments, and Morewood Avenue, according to the 100th Spring Carnival website.