Carnival brings community together

Published 5:38 pm Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Residents from Carrsville and beyond became better acquainted with their neighbors Saturday, Aug. 6, as they attended the inaugural Old Fashioned Community Carnival at the Walters Ruritan Community House.

Much of the action was outside the house, as children explored bounce houses, participated in classic carnival games, had their faces painted, got a bite of free food to eat and were able to meet K-9 Cody and area law enforcement officers.

Vendors were on hand inside the community house.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The carnival was organized by the Walters Ladies Community Club.

“I thought it went very well,” Club President Shawn Carr said. “I think we had about 200 people come through.”

The event ran from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Carr said the traffic of attendees was steady throughout.

“A lot of them were from Carrsville, a few from Windsor and a couple from Franklin,” she said. “I think we had a really good group of people.”

She said attendees also gave organizers some suggestions on things for next year’s iteration of the event.

Asked what features of the carnival seemed to her to be the most popular, Carr said, “The game of Hit the Cans, with the bean bags and the big coffee cans, and the bounce houses and probably the potato sack race and the egg race.”

Giving children the opportunity to explore the inside of emergency vehicles and even wear some gear was the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office, which was joined by the Carrsville Volunteer Fire Department, with one of its firetrucks, and the Virginia State Police.

American K-9 Interdiction, which is based out of Carrsville, was founded in 2001 with the focus to produce expertly trained canines to protect and save lives, as noted at AK9I.edu. Helping represent AK9I at the carnival was K-9 Cody.

“That dog was great,” Carr said.

The Walters Ruritan Club lent a hand at the event, coordinating the parking area located just down the road from the community house.