The second annual Myerstown carnival hosted by the Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity, scheduled for May 20-25, will bring rides, games, live entertainment, and food vendors to Myerstown Community Park, culminating in a fireworks display at 9 p.m. on Memorial Day.
Daniel R. Ebling, president of the Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity and carnival chair, spoke with LebTown about this year’s event. Last year’s carnival attracted an estimated 10,000+ guests.
“The whole idea of the charity was to create something that brings the community together in a way that they (the community) may want to help support or take care of the area better, as well,” said Ebling.
In an effort to expand the carnival, Ebling said Huey’s Amusements will offer at least 12 rides this year, compared to 10 rides last year. Ebling said that if approved by Huey’s Amusements, the charity also hopes to offer a “game walk,” where carnivalgoers can play games along the Myerstown Community Library’s StoryWalk at the park.
As for live entertainment, Dave Meyer, “Don’t Tell the Bishop,” will offer a comedy show on Thursday, May 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. There will be music performances by Full Circle on Friday, May 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Hammer Creek on Saturday, May 23, from 1 to 4 p.m.; Solid Gold on Saturday, May 23, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Road Riders on Sunday, May 24, from 5:20 to 8:30 p.m.; and Uncle Betty on Monday, May 25, from 5:20 to 8:30 p.m. Organizers are looking for bands to perform on May 20 and 21.
Throughout the carnival, guests can enjoy food and beverages from Porky’s Last Stand Smokehouse & BBQ, Castañeda’s, La Botanera, Golden Soft Pretzels, Happy Waffle, Rock ’n’ Bounce Treats Ice Cream, Joy Joy Lumpia, Suzy Q’s Coffee, and Cool Beans Brew. Organizers are seeking pizza and seafood vendors.
Other offerings that are up in the air for this year’s carnival, which will feature a new layout designed to draw community members into Myerstown Community Park, include a Touch-a-Truck event by the U.S. Army and bingo.
Admission to the carnival is free. Parking is free and available at Myerstown Community Pool before it opens for the season on May 23-25.
Free parking is also available in the lot by the Isaac Meier Homestead (reserved for those with mobility issues), parking lots by the pond and off Peach Alley, and along the streets surrounding the park.
Guests can purchase tickets for rides and games offered by Huey’s Amusements. Guests who purchase a season pass for the community pool now through the start of the carnival can show their receipt at the info booth for half off an all-day ride bracelet — made possible by Huey’s Amusements and the Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity.
“We’re just looking to give back to the borough as well because we’re going to use the entire park for a week. We want to make sure that there’s something there,” said Ebling.
He continued on to address some rumors about the charity not paying for the use of the park. “Last year, we paid all of our electricity, all of our water that we used here, so residents weren’t out any money from this,” said Ebling.
Ebling told LebTown the carnival costs the Ebling charity about $20,000 to $40,000 to run each year, and Myerstown Borough does not contribute to the cost. The charity offsets some of the costs with proceeds from Huey’s Amusements, food vendors, and event sponsors.
“We don’t bring in a whole ton from the carnival. The most money we bring in is from sponsors that are generous enough to donate to us,” he said.
Event sponsors for this year’s carnival include A&H Industries at $15,000 (for the fireworks display), Bayer at $2,500, Wengers at $1,500, GAF at $1,000, and Country Fare at $500. Some event sponsors are in progress, and additional event sponsorships are still available.
“The idea of expanding is potentially because we had such a great turnout, I believe we’re going to have a better turnout each year to come. When we get to a point where they’re making … probably double from what they have, then we’ll start bringing in enough to start saving towards park equipment,” said Ebling.
He added that one of his first goals for the charity is to replace a few pieces of equipment at the park that are not functioning, which would cost the charity about $15,000. For the time being, the charity is doing smaller things to help the park, like donating paint for the pavilions by the pond.
The Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity’s board, which consists of Daniel R. Ebling, Dee Ebling, and Ann Gruber, also hopes to increase the charity’s number of volunteers so it can have a committee dedicated to organizing the annual event.
“Our goal is to continue building this into a strong annual tradition that supports local businesses, brings families together, and creates something the community can take pride in,” he said in an email to LebTown.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source lebtown.com ’
