Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Tau Kappa Epsilon’s statue is seen in progress on the Michigan Technological University campus Friday.

HOUGHTON — Despite unusually warm weather, Michigan Technological University’s Winter Carnival is underway with only slight modifications.

“Although it may not be plentiful snow amounts, we will still have a fun carnival this year,” said Joe Dlugos, president of Tech’s Blue Key Honor Society, which organizes the carnival.

The only upcoming event to be canceled because of weather is broomball, which had been scheduled for a tournament on Sunday, Dlugos said.

Blue Key is working with local departments of public works and other groups to make sure groups have enough snow to make the snow statues that are the most visible monuments to Winter Carnival.

“It’s going pretty well,” Dlugos said. In the event more snow is needed, Blue Key will post a call to the public through its social media channels, Dlugos said.

A perennial contender for the top snow statue, Tau Kappa Epsilon builds an eye-catching display along U.S. 41 near the Administration Building. Building under the warm-weather conditions has “definitely been a struggle,” said Connor Steer, president of Tech’s TKE chapter.

“The warm weather has not been helpful for us,” he said. “Along with the other organizations, (we) have been able to power through and use a lot of the resources of the community to help us out.”

TKE has partnered with the Western Upper Peninsula Food Bank, which lets the fraternity shovel out their parking lot for clean snow.

Some special events have already taken place, and this weekend sees the largest-scale event yet with the annual Royalty Coronation, which starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Rozsa Center. The Royalty Committee has been working hard on the event, which features eight contestants answering questions and giving a performance tied to the Carnival theme, “From Forests to Shores We Love the Outdoors.”

“They have their talents ready to perform, and we’re ready to crown our Royal Majesty for this year,” Dlugos said.

Blue Key is also seeking volunteers from Tech faculty and staff to help man the fire pits on campus during Wednesday’s all-nighter, Dlugos said. Crowds linger throughout the night to watch statues come together — both the one-night statues and the larger month-longs.

This year’s statue building was shortened by two weeks due to the lack of snow on the ground in early January. TKE scaled their statue down slightly to compensate, taking out some of the smaller components.

“All in all, we’re hoping to have a similar size statue as in recent years,” Steer said. “That will depend on snow, and how much we can finish on time.”

With Wednesday’s low temperature predicted to be just above freezing, TKE is looking to finish as much work as possible during the colder nights this weekend.

During Wednesday’s all-nighter, TKE will have a booth behind the statue raising money for charity. The fraternity is holding the “Cookies for a Cause” bake sale for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, supporting children’s cancer research.

St. Jude’s is the charity of choice for the national TKE organization, which counts the hospital’s founder among its alumni. Around the country, TKE is hoping to raise $10 million over a 10-year period to open up a new wing of the hospital.

This is the second year for the bake sale, which began as a last-minute fundraising idea, Steer said. Advisor Susan Liebau was instrumental in helping them gain approval to sell the cookies.

“Last year was successful, and we sold out faster than we had anticipated,” Steer said. “We hope to have just as much success, if not more, this year.”

Cookies will be available from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday night or until supplies run out.

It’s $3 for each bag of two to three cookies, or $5 for two bags, Steer said. TKE will also accept any donations for St. Jude’s.

This year also features Blizzard, an acrobatic performance by the troupe Flip Fabrique. Shows will take place Feb. 9-10, replacing the traditional Winter Carnival comedian.

Dlugos said Student Leadership and Involvement, which helps books acts, had suggested the idea.

“It’s a whole change of pace,” Dlugos said. “We’ve had a comedian for so many years, so we thought ‘Let’s switch things up.'”

Friday night’s show, which starts at 7:30 p.m., is recommended for those 6 and up. A sensory-friendly matinee follows at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Other highlights include Thursday night’s Stage Revue, which starts 7 p.m. at the Rozsa Center, and Saturday night’s closing Torchlight parade and Fireworks, starting 8:30 p.m. at Mont Ripley.

Participating in all aspects of the carnival, especially the statues, is a key milestone for TKE, Steer said.

“For us, tradition is everything,” Steer said. “Pretty much every year we lose money doing the statue, but we enjoy it. It’s definitely grueling work and a lot to balance on top of school and other extracurriculars, but at the end of the day being able to go out there Thursday morning and look at the final product, it’s one of the most satisfying feelings.”

The carnival is a “Keweenaw experience” at the snowiest college in the country, he said. For many of the students, Tech is their first experience of a true winter.

“We try to get them out of their dorms and experience the Michigan Tech culture,” Dlugos said. “We also look at our faculty and staff. They get a break and we want them to have a good time.”

As the all-nighter nears, Dlugos has gotten calls from as far away as Indiana and Missouri. Alumni return from around the country, and community members from Calumet or Ontonagon bring their families, Dlugos said.

“Seeing little kids’ faces looking up at our statues going, ‘Oh, that’s so cool,’ that’s why we do this,” he said. “It really showcases our campus and what Keweenaw winters are all about.”

For a full list of events, go to mtu.edu/carnival/2024.