Student Foundation celebrates the birthday of Peruna the Pony, SMU’s mascot, by bringing together the community for games, food, and activities. This year, PerunaPalooza attendees could ride on a carnival swing, play carnival-themed games like Ring-A-Bottle and Balloon Pop, or eat corndogs and fried Oreos. Student Foundation asked participants to comply with all COVID-19 guidelines posted by the university, which includes wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

“We didn’t want everyone who comes to the event to be subject to people without masks” said Alex Smith, VP of Student Foundation Programming.

PerunaPalooza was initially to take place on Friday, April 16th, but the event was moved to Sunday due to inclement weather. Despite the date change and COVID-19 restrictions, students enjoyed the event.

“I felt like it was a perfect Sunday afternoon to spend with friends. It’s been a long time since I jumped around in a bounce house, and the food was amazing” said Isabel Costian, an SMU senior.

Last spring, PerunaPalooza was canceled because of the global pandemic. In the fall of 2020, SMU Student Foundation hosted a belated PerunaPalooza with social distancing measures. With the success of the spring 2021 PerunaPalooza, the university celebrated Peruna’s birthday twice in a single academic year.