Seeking a more connected and engaged campus community, Campus Activities is now are bringing some winter fun to the Lory Student Center at 6 p.m. Friday night.

The sixth annual Winter Carnival will take place in the LSC theater and the Grand Ballroom, funded by the Ram Welcome program. This year’s glow-themed activities, which were inspired by surveys of students who attended the event in the past, will include casino games, crafts and an inflatable laser tag arena. 

In past years, outdoor activities such as a roller rink and an ice sculpture exhibit on the Plaza were added to the programming. This year’s event will take place solely in the toasty indoors. 

According to Laura Brant, the program coordinator for RamEvents, the fact that this event takes place during the semester means it is for the enjoyment of all students, not just freshmen or transfers. 

“This is more of a welcome back for the semester for all students and not just for new students,” Brant said. “We love planning it and we love having it in the building.”

The organizers of this event include Brant and her graduate student assistant Amanda Villa, as well as the assistant director of transition programs Keith Lopez. 

Hoping that attendees enjoying the free food and prizes will walk away from the night with new friends and an enhanced feeling of belonging within the Colorado State community, the event organizers look forward to sharing their work with the estimated crowd of about 500 students.

“We’re just excited that the students are back! We have an incredible group of new students and we are excited to welcome them to the CSU community,” Brant said.

Collegian Reporter Julia Rentsch can be reached at news@collegian.com and on Twitter at @julia_rentsch.