After taking the last few years off, the annual Winter Carnival returned in Elmwood Park.
The five-hour indoor fun fair on March 18 at the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Building featured free activities for toddlers to sixth-graders.
“We didn’t have it last year or the two years before that because of COVID so this is the first time we’ve had it in three years,” Shakundala “SK” Narayan, office manager of the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Building, told Pioneer Press.
According to Narayan, nearly 500 families attended the event, which she was told traditionally draws more.
“I think a lot of people were not as comfortable coming back after COVID. In fact, a lot of families asked (if) we (knew) how crowded it was going to get and I didn’t really have an answer for that,” she said.
Narayan noted that this year’s Winter Carnival included some new offerings such as a double-sided jump house.
“They just wanted to make everything a little bigger and better this time around,” said Narayan about the group of 10 people including herself who helped prepare the event.
She described a 70-foot-long inflatable obstacle course at the Winter Carnival as including a ladder to climb to go down the slide.
“It’s the longest and largest we ever had,” Narayan said.
She said the Winter Carnival occupied the main gym and the east gym of the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Building.
“It’s just the idea that families can get out of the house and do something different on a Saturday that’s not school- or club-oriented. The kids can run around and be a kid,” Narayan said.
Concession catering company Happy Jacks, which she said has been a Winter Carnival staple, returned with such foods as hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn and Sno-Kones for purchase as well as a sand art project for a fee that covered the craft and a container to take home what was created.
Narayan said Happy Jacks also provided eight carnival games including bucket toss, shuffleboard, ring toss, a hockey shoot, bowling and Battle Bags during which children could win tickets to redeem for a number of prizes such as beach balls, wizard glasses, hibiscus flower leis, mini plush animals and yo-yos.
“Giving the little ones something to do was great. I just love meeting and greeting the kids and the families of Elmwood Park,” she said.
The Winter Carnival initially was advertised as being for Elmwood Park residents only but Narayan said the event attracted interest from nonresidents including participants in programs at the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Building.
“That morning someone from Chicago was driving by. We had this huge flyer in front. They saw it and asked if they could bring their children. It was definitely open to everyone,” she said.
The fair also included Jayne Mangione, of Highland Park, who Narayan said made balloon animals for two
hours.
“The majority of the boys wanted swords and the girls wanted flowers so that worked out well. Kids were having fun,” Narayan said.
She credited Gary Kantor, who does a magic program every three months for Elmwood Park Parks and
Recreation Department, for recommending Mangione for the Winter Carnival.
It was the first time for Narayan to work on the annual event, which she said began in 2016 and was the brainchild of Donna Sabella, former office manager of the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Building.
“It was her baby. She started it. She just had a vision for wanting to do something like this,” said Narayan, who became office manager following Sabella’s retirement in June 2021 after 18 years.
She called the Winter Carnival a group effort, noting that the approximately 25 helpers at the event included staffers as well as 10 Key Club members from Elmwood Park High School and children who needed community service hours for National Honor Society.
She said some of the senior citizens who take the senior fitness class that Al Schmidt, director of the Elmwood Park Parks and Recreation Department, teaches three times a week also volunteered to help at the event.
“We’ve been receiving a lot of great compliments and positive feedback, which is wonderful,” Narayan said.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
