Washington University’s annual ThurtenE Carnival will be held in its original location near Francis Field April 11-13 and will feature a visit from the Cooking Channel’s show “Carnival Eats.”

The carnival will be held in the parking lots of Simon Hall and the Athletic Complex and the paved portion within Francis Field and Olympian Way, resulting in the closure of the Simon Hall and Athletic Complex parking lots. The full parking area will become available again April 17.

Jennifer Ra | Student Life

A merry-go-round, one of the rides set up in the Simon Hall parking lot for this year’s ThurtenE Carnival. The annual spring event was relocated to its original space in the parking lots near Simon Hall and the Athletic Center and parts of Francis Field this year due to the continuing East End construction.

Junior Mari Hattenbach, ThurtenE Honorary’s media relations representative, believes this location change will not affect the carnival and embodies its theme, “ThurtenE Through the Years: Our Shared History.”

“Students should expect the same beloved tradition [that] Wash. U. and St. Louis look forward to each year, coupled with new changes and exciting additions! This means offering the games, rides, food and amazing student facades the carnival is known for, year after year,” Hattenbach wrote in a statement to Student Life. “This year, we’ve placed a greater emphasis on new and exciting carnival food, and we have a lot of delicious options in store.”

“Carnival Eats,” a show on the Cooking Channel, will be filming three student booths Saturday and Sunday: Sigma Nu and Alpha Epsilon Phi; Delta Gamma and Zeta Beta Tau; and Alpha Omicron Pi.

Melanie Berkowitz, a senior and chair of the AEPhi/Sig Nu facade and food booth, is excited at the opportunity to have “Carnival Eats” film their stand.

“We are the only group that does a half facade and a food booth in one. It’s definitely great to get nation-wide exposure and have our hard work be recognized by ‘Carnival Eats.’ Our booth is going to be selling snow cones to the general public and then an upgraded specialized snow cone for the purpose of the show,” Berkowitz wrote in a statement to Student Life.

AOII will be selling edible cookie dough and edible cookie dough ice cream sandwiches, according to Ashley Shields, a senior and AOII’s ThurtenE chair.

According to senior Tess Gong, the ZBT/DG booth will feature a variety of fried food, grilled food and fried desserts, including a special deep-fried hotdog. The booth will also include an exhibit that features the history of fried food.

“Being on TV isn’t really a huge deal to us, but we’re more so excited about working with our partner [ZBT], constructing the booth itself and being able to donate to charity,” Gong wrote in a statement to Student Life.

This year, ThurtenE will be partnering with and donating the carnival’s net proceeds to Join Hands East St. Louis, a nonprofit organization offering youth programming and mentoring to residents of East St. Louis, Ill. Join Hands will also be at the carnival so people can learn more about the organization and their mission, according to Hattenbach.

“We believe their mission is outstanding, and we’re proud to be joining hands with them,” Hattenbach wrote.