A move to Keystone from Winter Park and increased scholarship amounts are among changes to this year’s Winter Carnival line-up, taking place Feb. 1 – 3, according to Kaitlin Nueman, co-chair of DUPB traditions, and Ryan Schultz, DUPB student event coordinator.

The carnival has been specifically designed this year to reach 1,000 participants and expand options to non-skier and snowboarder students, including snowshoeing and skating, so they have further opportunities to participate Nueman said.

According to Neuman, Winter Carnival is being held at Keystone Ski Resort because students have indicated that they would prefer to go to a ski resort that is part of the Epic Pass, a pass held by a large number of students. In the past, Winter Carnival has been held at Winter Park and Steamboat, among other Rocky Mountain locations.

DUPB traditions, a subset of DUPB, is hoping that increasing scholarship prices as well as providing additional activities will increase the number of participants, which was 750 last year. Registration will end tomorrow with a total of 600 registered as of Monday.

“We believe that moving to Keystone and increasing the Winter Carnival Scholarship to make the weekend even more affordable than before will provide incentives for a number of students to participate this year that have not in the past,” said Neuman.

The 52nd annual Winter Carnival is set to be fun, affordable and spectacular, according to Neuman..
The most fun and spectacular events on the schedule include the on-mountain concert at 9 p.m. Friday night, for which a headliner has not been announced, and the traditional late-night tubing from 6-7 p.m. on Friday night and 5-7 p.m. Saturday night.

There will also be a great variety of affordable events this year for students who do not ski or snowboard.

“We also offer discounts on tubing, ice-skating, s’mores, food around the village and a concert,” said Neuman.

“Lodging and other activities, such as sleigh rides and snowshoeing, are available on-site at a discounted rate when students give the DU group code, GG4DUC.” The rates for Keystone events have been discounted for all DU students attending with Winter Carnival.

Lift tickets, for example, are $45 each day for undergraduate students, almost a $55 discount from the regular adult ticket price.

Tubing and skating tickets will be $5 for DU undergraduate students, while concert tickets will cost $7.

In addition to the on-mountain events, DUPB will be hosting a series of on-campus celebrations, starting today, including a medallion hunt, open broomball night and a craft night. All events are meant to provide fun and excitement to students during the weeks leading up to Winter Carnival.

DUPB already began promoting Winter Carnival events last week by handing out official “Winter Carnival 2013” cups and cereal on Driscoll Bridge Monday and Tuesday.

According to Neuman, this week DUPB Traditions will be hosting a medallion hunt on campus that will have clues posted each day on DUPB’s Facebook page. Students will have to use the clues to locate a medallion hidden somewhere specific on campus.

“The first student to find the hidden gold medallion will win a wonderful Winter Carnival prize,” said Neuman.
If you don’t manage to snag the gold medallion, there is still chance for competition with an open broomball night on Wednesday. Schultz also announced that on Tuesday, Jan. 29 there will be a Winter Wonderland craft night.

“It should be a lot of fun,” said Schultz. “There we will have winter inspired crafts, such as making gingerbread houses to take home, and some treats that students may eat there.”

Craft night is scheduled to be followed by a Chili Cook-off Thursday, Jan. 31, with a tasting in Davis Auditorium from 7-8 p.m.

“During the tasting, we will be hosting a sing-off to prepare for the movie Pitch Perfect that is being put on that night by the DUPB Films committee,” said Schultz.

According to Schultz, while DU’s Winter Carnival tradition is special because it allows students to go off campus and interact in a new, fun setting, it also allows DUPB to welcome students back to campus after a long break.

“It also provides an affordable way for people to experience the nearby mountains that make our state one of the most beautiful in the nation,” said Neuman. “It is a weekend full of traditions and fun you do not want to miss out on.”

Register now through Jan. 16 for the weekend at Keystone and visit go.du.edu/wintercarnival for a full schedule of events.