MSU alumni crowded around the Red Cedar River on Friday evening to witness the return of Water Carnival after a 36-year absence.
What they saw in a roughly hour-long procession of 18 floats was a departure from the extravagant tradition many of them remembered.
The chilly October weather gusted wind and mists of rain on the hundreds who attended Friday's event. The scene stood in stark contrast to what had been a three-day festival in mid-June from 1923 until 1969. At its peak, the carnival featured almost 50 floats, lit up stretches of the riverbank and drew sellout crowds.
The comparison didn't detract from last weekend's event, organizers and onlookers agreed.
"This is a good way to do it," said John Forsyth, a retired computer science professor and 1962 graduate, who remembered the floats from the early 1960s. "They had gotten pretty elaborate by that time.
"Kids flunked out of school putting the floats together."
Carnival organizers said they were pleasantly surprised with both the effort from the students involved and the response from the community.
"In the beginning, we were a little concerned that it wasn't coming together," said Sharon Radtke, the Water Carnival chairwoman and assistant director of special programs with the MSU Alumni Association. "It's brought a lot of people on campus that wouldn't have ordinarily come. You look around and you see people of all ages."
A mix of older alumni, young families and students packed the north bank of the river in Auditorium Field to watch the floats.
"It's less of a student thing," said Lyman Briggs freshman Caitlin Krzystowczyk, who decided to check out the floats with a group of her friends after seeing an announcement for the event in her dorm.
A number of the students watching the action said they showed up mainly out of curiosity.
"Going down the river, it was awesome to see how many people were lining the banks," said David Krause, a kinesiology junior who piloted one of the floats dressed as an early 20th century football player.
As part of a weekend celebrating the university's 150th anniversary, each of the floats depicted a decade from the university's history. One float represented the future, and two carried the homecoming court.
In a moment of historical irony, the Senior Class Council's Titanic-themed float collided with the riverbank.
"When we crashed into the bank, my heart just stopped," said pilot Rebecca Parker, an elementary education senior dressed as Teddy Roosevelt, who gave the commencement speech at Michigan Agricultural College in 1907.
"I guess it provided some comic relief to the event because everyone down there got a good laugh," Parker said.
But the Senior Class Council had the last laugh when their raft, which they began decorating Wednesday and spent about $400 constructing, won the award for best float.
Sesquicentennial committee chairwoman Sue Carter, who commentated on the event with Spartans sports personality Terry Braverman, said the carnival's organizers will have to decide what will become of the event within the next few weeks, partly because the rafts have to be either stored or sold.
"It looked like (the students) were having a good time, they should keep it up. It's a nice way to get community together," said Haslett resident Joanne Ricks, who added she would be interested in coming back if the carnival is held again next year.
In the past, Water Carnival had been a fundraiser for the senior class. Senior Class Council member Sarah Reynolds, an interior design senior, said Wednesday that the group might consider taking on the event.
"We haven't talked about it, but I'm thinking about bringing it up," she said. "Out of 40,000 students, there's got to be some students with some serious MSU passion."
