Carnival

Remember how fun it was to go to a fair or a carnival?  For me, it was the Phillips Free Fair or the Tri-State Fair.  For my kid, it was the  South Plains Fair and one year I took them to Dallas for the Texas State Fair.  I, personally, liked the exhibits better than anything.  But, there were people that would play the games.  And, keep playing, trying to win the giant teddy bears.  My mom did not like for us to play the games.  She said they were rigged and we would never win.  Maybe she was right.  Maybe not.

When I did play the games, I was not having to play to win socks and underwear and my mom was not having to play for a pan in which to cook my food.  But these were the prizes at this carnival and people were very glad to win them.

This was the second year of the carnival.  The community in which the carnival was held is very poor.  The children willingly played the games to win a much needed pair of underwear or socks and their moms played to win a cooking pot.

Last year, we had games made out of poster board.  This year, we went all out and the games were made out of wood and will be stored and used again next year.  Nicole-of-all-trades made the games and she did a great job.

Her back porch became her work site.

When the group arrived, there was a crowd waiting and the lines became longer as the day went on.

There were 10 games.  I don`t think there is a picture of all of them.

There were tables and tables of prizes.  It was suggested that it might take more than one event to get rid of all the prizes.

And then, there were the proud winners.

We learned that even Santa needs a cup of coffee or two before dressing and heading out to the carnival.

The prizes and money to buy prizes came from all over the United States.  The money to buy the shoes that were used as prizes came from our friends in England.  A huge to shout out to everyone that donated prizes, money and/or their time to come run the carnival this year.

It did not take more than one event to get rid of all the prizes.  They were gone in about 4 hours.

And, the fun will continue all week.