Memorial Day weekend is all about remembering the soldiers who passed away fighting for our country, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be some fun had in their honor.
In Boalsburg, one of the most traditional aspects of the town’s historic Memorial Day weekend celebration is the town carnival, hosted by the fire company.
The sounds of carnival music fill the air, occasionally interrupted by the scream of an excited child on one of the many rides and the smell of funnel cake and other fried fare.
While the weekend features events like the parade on Saturday evening, the service on Monday evening, and plenty of festivities on Memorial Day, the carnival is the only part of Boalsburg’s Memorial Day celebration that runs all four days.
On Friday evening, Patrick Hockey and his son Keagan were already enjoying their second trip to the carnival this year.
“We live over on Main Street so we come every year. We participate in as many things as we can,” Hockey says. “It’s something we all look forward to because it’s the beginning of summer, and there’s also the tradition of having family over. Everybody sits on their porches and listens to the bands go by and even just bringing the kids to the carnival Friday night is fun.”
The Hockey family moved to Boalsburg four years ago, and the Memorial Day traditions in town was one of the biggest draws for them.
“This is one of the reasons we love Boalsburg so much and one of the reasons we moved here,” Hockey says. “It’s just because of the family atmosphere and neighborhood and events like this that all play a part.”
While the carnival is plenty of fun for Boalsburg residents and visitors alike, there is a devoted fire company working in the background to plan and execute the weekend. The carnival planning starts four months before Memorial Day weekend, says Joe Davidson, a firefighter of 32 years who serves as the fireman’s relief president in Boalsburg.
“It’s usually three or four months ahead of time. We start preparing in March or April,” he says. “We review what went right from last year, what went wrong, and critique what we could do better and where we could use more resources.”
That planning effort pays off for the fire company. The carnival is its largest fundraiser and helps the fire company operate each year.
“This is the biggest single fundraiser of the year for us,” Davidson says. “Weather is an extremely important factor determining how much we get out of the carnival, but it typically grosses anywhere between $15,000 and $25,000. It goes mostly toward equipment and fire suppression activities and supplies.”
The fire company volunteers man the bingo stands, food stands, and are responsible for ticket sales. While the fire company’s hard work is necessary for the fundraising, Davidson says it’s also satisfying to put on such an important community event.
“The community certainly looks forward to coming to the carnival every year,” he says. “It’s a destination for a lot of people to come back to the area for Memorial Day weekend. It’s a place where people spend a good part of the weekend every year.”
The carnival will be open Saturday from the end of the parade until 10 p.m. It will run from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, which featured a $15 wristband for unlimited access to rides. On Monday, the carnival will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., when the walk to the cemetery for the Memorial Day services will occur.
You can find a full schedule of the Memorial Day weekend events here.
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