Kids scrambling for candy. A flurry of toy trading and putt-putt golfers. If an onlooker compared each scene, they would see one element in common: a big smile on the face of both mentor and mentee.

“It’s awesome,” said junior Whitman Mentor Program Intern Molly Carroll of Friday’s Mentee to Campus Day. “I’m so happy with the turn out. This is the largest group we’ve had yet, and everyone’s getting into it.”

The event, considered the best turnout to date, featured over 170 mentor/mentee pairs within the program. The celebration is a way for Whitman mentors and their Walla Walla elementary and junior high school mentees to celebrate their bond.

“It’s so packed,” said sophomore Whitman Mentor John Loranger. “It’s definitely our most successful event.”

This year’s carnival featured a inflatable bouncy castle, a ring toss, face paint, a wacky picture booth, arm-wrestling and pin the tail on the donkey booths. This year also featured a putt-putt golf course and a “milk the cow” contest.

Since this year’s event was so well attended, volunteers outside of the Whitman Mentor Program were needed to man the booths and prize tables. Among a wide variety of volunteers, prominent were members of the Greek system and Whitman’s Youth Adventure Program (YAP) members.

“It’s great to help out,” said senior Willie Kunkel. “I applied to be a mentor once, but didn’t really have time to do it. It’s great to be here and see all these kids having lots of fun.”

As the booths began to shut down, all the mentors and mentees gathered in the Reid ballroom to listen to Schwa and the watch the Juggling Team perform. The crowd spanned almost the entirety of the room, revealing just how much this year’s carnival exceeded expectations.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the hard work and [the mentor-mentee’s] fantastic bond,” said Kunkel.