Pirates, minotaurs, and other costumed men and women wandered the tents, paths and castle rooms, mingling with friends and strangers alike. Laughter echoed throughout the castle grounds. Flames lit carpeted paths from the top of the hill down to the castle drawbridge. Golden bottles rested invitingly behind bars scattered throughout the castle on Aug. 28 at Castle McCulloch. The second annual Summer Carnivale was in full swing.

The first performance of the evening was the fire dancers of Unifire Theatre out of Asheville, N.C. As darkness fell, leather-clad dancers lit batons, jump ropes, hoops and masks before spinning, tossing, juggling, breathing and eating them during mesmerizing dances set to reggae, techno and tribal songs.

“The fire dancers were a spectacular blend of dance and pyrotechnic mastery,” said Carnivale-goer Chuck Kline. “I, personally, have never seen fire whips before, and aside from some minor accelerant issues, they were rather impressive.”

When the fire dancers finished their performance, a phoenix, wings-aflame, flew through the night air from the Crystal Garden at the top of the hill to the castle drawbridge at the bottom.

“(The Phoenix) was anti-climactic,” attendee Malary Kline said. “There was a lot of build-up and there really was not a lot to see.”

Wandering through the grounds after the fire performance, there was certainly a lot to see for Carnivale-goers. Spankings were sold for a dollar in one of the tents, and it was not long before a crowd had gathered to cheer on both the people getting spanked and the women spanking them. Music boomed from other tents where people danced. In the Voodoo Lounge, a lingerie-clad woman danced on a balcony, yelling at people to dance on her pole.

The basement of the castle entertained those who were tired of walking and wished to sit, rest, socialize and drink for awhile.

“Castle Carnival at first glance seems to be an amazing spectacle of costumes, performance and great social interaction,” said John Stephens, a freshman at Guilford Technical Community College. “Although it did seem as though much of the conversation would be forgotten in the abyss of ‘wtf’ moments of drunken stupor, meeting new people through mutual friends and acquaintances is practically guaranteed.”

But, as with any crowded event, a few emergencies happened on the grounds. Amid the revelry, one Carnival-goer blacked out because of a medical condition.

“The terrifying thing was when a poor girl passed out three times in front of our table,” senior Cristen Kennedy said. “We tried to keep her calm, but she ended up going to the hospital.”

Even with the few emergencies that happened, the night sparkled with good friends, great costumes, and good conversation. Alas, the revelry could not last forever.

“If this is your thing, by all means Castle Carnivale is definitely the place to go,” Stephens said. “Even if some of these aspects do not appeal to you, it is definitely worth experiencing even just one time.