With tents, games and activities, Big RAH Circus sprung up on the Chamberlain Student Center’s back patio this past Thursday.

This event, sponsored by Rowan After Hours (RAH), had caricature artists, face painters, jugglers and carnival games for students to enjoy.

The attendance of over 400 students at the event was a major factor in the event’s success, according to Office of Student Activities graduate coordinator Tom Marsella.

“With WOW Weekend we were aiming to have three big events to get more students out to RAH and excited about the events we offer,” Marsella added, noting this is the first time RAH has attempted its WOW Weekend events.

“We wanted three different events that we have not done before,” Marsella said, referring to the other unique events this past weekend, including Retro RAH and RAH Extreme, “I feel that we have accomplished what we were aiming for, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the event. It all tied together very nicely and made it feel like a circus.”

Throughout the event there were various performers and artists who added to the circus-like atmosphere such as Evan Young, the juggler who was busy teaching a handful of students how to juggle before he performed.

“I learned to juggle in boy scouts. Someone was doing a presentation for a merit badge,” Young mentioned as some onlookers joined in his crash course in juggling. “I just like being kind of ridiculous and being silly and making a connection with people.”

Many of the students in attendance also got in the competitive spirit, trying to top each other’s high scores in different carnival style games.

“My favorite part about the event would have to be the face painting and games,” said sophomore marketing major Daisy Wiley, who had just finished getting her face painted.

“I got a leopard print on my face and it turned out really well, which I matched with my friends. It was fun to get competitive against my friends playing the games, even if I did lose,” Wiley said. “I think RAH should do more events like this in the future because it was a very popular night with lots of different and fun activities to do.”

For some students, such as sophomore marketing and biology major Lauren Bitzer, Big RAH Circus brought a sense of nostalgia.

“You know when you go on a carousel and you’re sitting on the cheetah animal and your face is painted like a cheetah? What more can you want?” Bitzer said. “Maybe cotton candy in one hand and a giant lollipop in the other, you can’t ask for anything more.”

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