Annual Carnival Benefits Boalsburg Fire Company

For more than 50 years, the annual Boalsburg Carnival has provided area residents with a Memorial Day weekend full of rides, games and food.

This year will be no different.

As one of the biggest fundraisers for the Boalsburg Fire Company, the carnival runs from Thursday to Monday at the carnival grounds located behind Station 3 in Boalsburg.

 “The carnival is five days of rides, a parade, food stands and games. It’s a place where a lot of people come back for Memorial Day weekend, a place to get together and to see people they might not see too often. It is homecoming of sorts for many,” carnival marketer Greg Alters said.

Boalsburg Fire Company president and carnival chairman Nate Frey said the volunteer firefighter department began planning for this year’s carnival about two months ago.

“We have put in countless hours to make sure the carnival works,” he said.

During the planning, Frey and his committee booked Sunshine Shows of Middleburg as the midway providers.
Rides will include classics like the Ferris wheel, spinning tea cups and a merry-go-round, along with other fun-packed rides for carnival-goers of all ages.

Frey said the fire company will be taking care of the food stands, which will include carnival favorites like barbecue chicken, hot sausage sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries.   

The fire company will also be holding bingo in the truck room of the station on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday. A 50/50 drawing will be pulled on Monday night, the last night of the carnival.

Thursday will be the first of two wristband nights. Wristbands will provide carnival-goers with unlimited ride access on the midway at a lower cost than tickets. Thursday’s wristband event will run from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Another wristband event will be held on Sunday from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.

“Wristband nights are much more cost effective for families. They get to ride unlimited for four hours,” Alters said. “It’s a good deal so they can come and try not to spend as much money and ride all the rides.”

The parade will be held on Saturday night at 5 p.m. The carnival will open following the end of the parade.
Frey said the parade will be composed of fire apparatuses, bands and other community groups.

“It’s like the Boalsburg Memorial Day parade. A lot of people come in from all over to see our parade,” he said.
The community gathering in support of the carnival and parade, and in turn, the volunteer fire company, is what both Frey and Alters find as one of the best aspects of the event.

“The fire company and the time when we get together and spend a lot of time trying to put on a good event for the community is huge. The big thing is that it’s a community event more than anything,” Alters said.

“It is great to see people showing support to their local fire company. The more people that come and show their faces means a lot to us,” Frey said. “A lot of people don’t realize the guys that do this are volunteering their time to make this work. We are there to support them. We do it because we want to help our community. Seeing their support for us is huge.”

For additional information or to purchase advance ride tickets contact the Colonial Press in Boalsburg or any Boalsburg Fire Company member.