First, the elephant riding should really NOT be encouraged at all. The Humane Society of the United States has recommended that we avoid ALL types of elephant riding even if the trainers treat them well. While the trainer claims to treat these creatures well, I can't believe him or her until I have a third party verify this. Nothing person against them. This market as a whole is filled with abuses and I'm not going to take a trainer's word as of now.  Lastly, elephants are wild animals, not carnival rides and should not be treated as such.

Second, it's a $10 entry fee ($15 if you order them online). Seriously? The explanation behind that was that they couldn't afford all the stuff without the fee. No way. Festivals are usually used as fundraisers, as in people making a profit on this stuff. I've personally worked carnivals that have had a net profit of 20k or more! If people can make that kind of money with carnivals, I'm sure we can figure out a way to break even. For example, like every other carnival ever, sell tickets that are exchanged for games instead of charging at the gate. Or you could start with cutting the elephant rides. That ought to save you a good chunk of change. (Oh, and the event page says that everything is included in the $10, but I can assure you that the guys on the food trucks will not feel the same way.)

Personally, I feel like UMBC already has a problem of getting students to do stuff already. Just ask any resident about the campus life on the weekend. It's like 28 Days Later! I was on the fence about whether or not I wanted to show up and this kind of sealed the deal for me.