BROOKLAWN, MA. CARNIVAL

Annual Brooklawn Park carnival begins Thursday night

By EILEEN MARUM
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
May 12, 2010 12:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — For a trip back in time, the 23rd annual Carnival at Brooklawn Park features a family-oriented festival, loaded with competitions, rides, tasty food and just plain all-around fun.
The fair, sponsored by the North End Business Association, kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday and runs through Sunday. Admission to the festival is free; there is a charge for rides.
"There will be 16 rides at the park, ranging from the merry-go-round to the Zipper," said Linda Morad, Ward 1 city councilor and executive director of the North End Business Association. "We have go-carts, train rides, flying swings, small roller coaster and more."
Along with the rides, there will be a variety of concessions and games, including basketball, water guns, frog attack, ring toss and duck races.
"Seems like everyone is walking around the park with some stuffed animal or game prize," Morad said.
The cuisine is carnival food: cotton candy, candy apples, snow cones, fried dough, pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers.
The carnival serves a two-fold purpose, Morad said: It provides family fun while stimulating fond childhood memories for adults, and the revenue keeps membership fees for North End businesses affordable.
"We also utilize these monies to support various charitable organizations in our area, the schools, church fundraising projects, summer concerts in the park and various other holiday events throughout the North End," Morad said.
Prices will be the same as the previous three years. Wrist bands, which will be sold for the carnival Thursday from 6-10 p.m. and again Sunday from 1-5 p.m., will cost $20, allowing children to ride all of the rides as often as they wish as opposed to purchasing an individual ticket for each ride.
Tickets, other than wrist bands, cost $1 each, a strip of 10 tickets is $9, or a sheet of 30 tickets is $25. Most rides require three or four tickets.
Hours are Thursday and Friday, 6-10 p.m., Saturday, noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 1-8 p.m.