The carnival will run from June 26 to June 30 starting at 6 p.m. nightly.
St. Mary of the Lakes will be kicking off the summer with its first annual carnival. The carnival will run from Tuesday, June 26, to Saturday, June 30, starting at 6 p.m. each night at St. Mary of the Lakes School in Medford.
The carnival’s opening night features crowd-pleasing $1 hot dogs. Wednesday night is Family Night where a one price, ride all night ticket can be purchased for $20 at St. Mary of the Lakes Parish Office and after masses leading up to the carnival.
With this discounted ticket, a wristband can be redeemed at the carnival to ride all rides as many times as you want all night. This ticket is exclusively for June 27.
Thursday night will be the Battle of the Bands competition, in addition to a pay one price ride all night ticket that can be purchased at the carnival. Battle of the Bands is open to all bands whose members are entering sixth through 12th grade in the fall, and prize money will be awarded to the top three bands.
Each night, carnival-goers can participate in a Super 50/50 raffle, which is $5 per raffle, and the drawing will take place at 10:45 p.m. on the last night of the carnival.
In addition to these items, there will be nightly entertainment, more than 17 rides, 13 games, raffles and a food tent with food provided by many locals businesses, including Murphy’s Fresh Markets, Ponzio’s Diner and Leo’s Yum Yum.
A beer garden with four select beers on tap will also be under the food tent. There is something for everyone to enjoy as a family or with a group of friends.
The Rev. Father Daniel Swift said, “When I arrived at SML three years ago, I wondered why SML didn’t have a carnival. Rumor was there was an ordinance in Medford against same. I mentioned this at a Back to School Night. One of the parents went to town hall and asked to read the ordinance, only to find out there is no ordinance. So soon after, we decided to have a carnival.”
September of 2017 is when planning for the carnival began. After nine months of preparation through obtaining supplies, vendors, permits and the contribution of the Medford Police, Fire and EMS, Medford Township officials, carnival coordinators of St. Joan of Arc and Holy Eucharist, St. Mary of the Lakes parishioners, many local businesses, Carnival Committee Chair Maria King and many others, a successful carnival is in right around the corner.
King expressed the two main goals of the upcoming carnival: “First, we are always looking for ways to sustain the school and its ability to remain an excellent educational experience for our students; and, secondly, we would like to become a signature event in Medford just like the carnivals of St. Charles Borromeo in Cinnaminson and St. Joan of Arc in Marlton are in their towns. We are hoping to start a very long and wonderful tradition.”
The carnival is open to the public and there is no entry or parking fee. All proceeds from food, drinks and rides will benefit St. Mary of the Lakes School. Those looking to volunteer can visit smlparish.org or the St. Mary of the Lakes Carnival Facebook page facebook.com/SMLCarnival to sign up.
