This blog post was written and photos were taken by Rick Callihan and I will admit that I shamelessly copied it in order to plug a major community event. If you don't follow Rick, I encourage you do so since he puts a nice spin on events happening in the community.
Had a great family night tonight over at DeKalb County's Brook Run Park, site host of the annual
Lemonade Days festival. If you have kids from age 5-15, I'd say the $15
ride bracelet (after using the
$5 off coupon) is a real deal. I suggest you buy the bracelet instead of individual tickets. There's no way you can take a kid there, ride only four or five rides, then leave. The bracelet (with coupon) is the way to go. If you kid is six or older then the parents really don't need to go on the rides.
With tonight being the opening night, and most kids required to go to school tomorrow, attendance was the lowest of the four day event. A perfect night for no lines. I'm sure the wait for rides will be tolerable all weekend, and the weather seems to be cooperating, so I recommend you head over.
Lots of good food selections as well. Hard to pass on a funnel cake. I opted for a Varsity chili dog, while some in my group ate some chicken fingers from
Guthries. The food vendors are both local and part of the amusement company.
The whole carnival scene takes me back to my years growing up in PA. I left home for a while (from age 9 until 11) and traveled up and down the east coast as a
Carny. It was quite enlightening. Eventually I
escaped returned home to lead a normal life, ending up here in Dunwoody years later.
A favorite thing of mine is the old-time style art work on the sides of the carnival rides.
The event organizers thought ahead and had special areas for dropping off plastic bottles.
There was also
PLENTY of WATER available for the carnival booths and their RVs.
Not sure who was in charge of printing and hanging the Sponsor signs, but they did a nice job as well.
While watching the kids on a ride I glanced down on the ride's motor housing and saw a few well-worn inspection stickers. After a closer look, I see Dunwoody now has an Inspector for our Parks and Recreation division. I did not even know we had such a thing. (see images below)
The fastest ride on site is the Himalaya. The Spyder was quick as well. Bumper cars and the Ferris Wheel are classics. As the sun went down, so did the temperature. The bright lights of the Carny booths filled the night with excitement.
Plenty of portable toilets
Being a former Carny (I worked the dart throwing booth, awarding skilled throwers their choice of a Styx mirror or a Coke bottle filled with colored sand or a dark-light poster with a mushroom on it) I avoid the games of chance. Although I was tempted to win my wife a Teddy Bear at the basketball game, I resisted. The kids will nag you to play the games (and the game operators will try to lure you in) but stay strong and stick to the rides and food.
Here a couple of photos, one with a FarmHouser doing last-minute sign work. The park was very clean and all in attendance were well behaved.
UPDATE - DUNK TANK
I was told the dunk tank will be open on Saturday this year, instead of Sunday. See the list below for the folks scheduled to be in the tank. Expect long waits to throw when some of these folks are in there.
(NOTE: schedule may vary and subject to change or be canceled)
Saturday:
12:00 - 12:30 Farmer Bob
12:30 - 1:00 Councilman Ross
1:00 - 1:30 Warren Hutmacher
1:30 - 2:00 Sustainable Pattie
2:00 - 2:30 Rick Callihan
2:30 - 3:00 Fran Millar
3:00 - 3:30 Mayor Wright
3:30 - 4:00 TBD
4:00 - 4:30 Police Chief Grogan
4:30 - 4:35 Dick Williams
4:35 - 5:00 Councilman Shortal
