Games, rides and Shark spirit: Step right up to USGA’s Fins Festival

By Hannah Krebsbach •

The Undergraduate Student Government Association will host its annual Fins Festival on April 4 from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Bill Gessner Sports Complex. The event is only open to NSU students.

The Fins Festival takes place every winter semester. The event is free for students and will have carnival rides, games with prizes and a variety of food options like popcorn and cotton candy. Students can expect to see attractions, such as the zero-gravity ride and a shark-themed bull machine ride, as well as fried OREO cookies and other foods.

Naitik Patel, junior computer science major and USGA external affairs director, oversees all events, including social media events.

“The Fins Festival is an annual event that is meant to be just a fun time for students to come together at the end of the year,” he said.

Patel said, this is one of the most popular events on campus with more than 1,500 students in attendance last year.

The rides and food are courtesy of carnival company South Florida Events, hired by the USGA for the event.

Due to commuter feedback, USGA is hosting this year’s festival on Friday instead of Saturday like it was last year.

“We got feedback from commuters that it was a little tricky for them, so we switched to Friday to try to get as many students to be able to attend as possible,” Patel said.

Ella Riddle, sophomore exceptional student education major, works as a Shark Preview leader and highlights this event to prospective students.

“This was one of the things that I remember from last year and the carnival rides and food were really good, so I always recommend it to my preview kids,” Riddle said.

The festival originally began as a means of encouraging student engagement during the winter semester, Patel said. It also serves as a final event before students graduate or leave for the summer.

Shireen Chimal, sophomore public health major, attended last years festival and plans to attend all future festivals as well.

“I had a great experience last year with all the rides and different activites. It was really fun. I think it was a great way to end the semester and a nice break from doing school,” Chimal said.

USGA accepts student recommendations for the rides and games. For example, many students were unhappy with the zipline during the 2024 festival, so it has been removed for the 2025 festival. The rides and games may change year-to-year to reflect students’ interests.

“We get a lot of feedback from these events, and we want students to continue to attend the NSU events and get more engaged on campus,” Patel said.

USGA aims to encourage student engagement on campus.

“Sometimes it can be hard for students to feel engaged and welcome, so I think the festival kind of helps with that because it’s a fun event that students can come to and interact with others,” Patel said.

There will be pre-waiver events, where students can fill out waivers in advance, in the Don Taft University Center on April 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and April 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students will be able to fill out the consent waiver for the festival and then receive a wristband.