On Thursday, Feb. 22, the John C. Myers Convocation Center, better known as “Convo”, brought back its food show. This theme brought carnival themed food as well as carnival-themed games.  

It has been a while since Ashland’s Convo has hosted any sort of food show. “We have done the food show many times, but Covid killed it for a couple years and the lack of staff or open positions in convo has put a damper on the plans as well,” said General Manager of Dining Services at Ashland University, Fred Geib.  

According to Geib, the last time Convo presented a carnival was back in 2013. 

The Convo Carnival had chicken and waffles, funnel cake, foot-long corn dogs, and cotton candy, in the center of the Upper Convention Center.  

Along the walls, they had free sample booths consisting of various treats such as smoothies, brownies, and ice cream. They also had different varieties of dinner food such as fried chicken, sandwiches, and mac n cheese.  

The carnival also had fun games consisting of tic-tac-toe, ring toss, a momentum ball game, and balloon dart game. If you won any of these games, you received a stuffed frog or a liter of soda.  

Senior Josh Hagan explained, “I saw the carnival being displayed advertised in Convo, and you know might as well check it out. See what it is, maybe get a corn dog and stuff.”  

Hagan also said, “I was very surprised to see how many booths there are [and] how much food there is. Honestly, it’s really cool.”  

For Ashland to book the food vendors, they had to do some work via Geib. He said, “Coordinating with Gordon Food Service and the various vendors selecting menu items.” In figuring out the food situation they had to “[decorate], set up, marketing, staffing, cleanup; all takes vast amounts of time.” 

Geib said, “We hope to do the food show again next year with a different theme.”