On Friday, Sept. 17, Canes Night Live (CNL) transformed the Shalala Student Center into a carnival complete with music, festivities and giveaways. Teaming up with CaneStage Theatre Company, the Hurricane Productions (HP) committee took inspiration from the Disney film “The Greatest Showman” to create a fun-filled evening.
At the building’s entrance, students were greeted by two jugglers balancing on rolling globes and event staff handing out custom t-shirts.
After walking through balloon arches and reaching the third floor, attendees were met with face painting, balloon art, a carnival cutout and a claw game.
In the activities room, music from “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack accompanied other attractions like a magic mirror, a photo booth and stuff-a-plush.
The night concluded with a magic comedy show performed by Nick Diffatte, an award-winning comedian and magician who has performed at renowned venues and on television, including “The Late Late Show with James Corden.”
“The room was filled with laughter during the entire performance,” said Lindsey Faucher, a sophomore double majoring in International Studies and Psychology with a French minor and a member of the CNL committee.
Marcela Raine, a sophomore majoring in Management and Marketing with a minor in Africana Studies, expressed how she most enjoyed the stuffed animals and face paint.
“Those were my favorite things to get as a child at the circus/carnival, so I loved being able to channel my six-year-old self,” Raine said.
While CNL took inspiration from the hit movie musical, last month’s event was inspired by the Space Jam movies. Katerina Jenkins, a junior Public Relations major and the vice-chair of HP, explained how CNL gets their ideas for each event theme.
“They love picking themes that relate to the student body, keeping things that are trendy and happening now and they wanted to [host] a fun and light event,” Jenkins said.
After reflecting on the night, Faucher also expressed her excitement for future events.
“Canes Greatest Show was definitely a successful night,” Faucher said. “I loved seeing the mix of circus elements and musical elements combined into one event…I can’t wait for students to experience the events we have in the works.”
While CNL hosts Friday night events monthly, the committee is just one of seven HP committees that host event programming throughout the semester. To stay in the loop about their events happening each week, make sure to follow @hp_miami on Instagram.
Featured image taken from Instagram @hp_miami