Early June means a lot of different things here in the four-state area.  The kids are getting out of school for summer vacation, farmers are busy planting their corn crops, seasonal farmer’s market sales moving into high gear, and one other annual tradition gets kicked-off for the summer months.

The local carnival.

Every summer, each small town or municipality features a week where the carnival comes to town.  It’s a cavalcade of food, arcade games, questionable rides, and musical entertainment to give locals a chance to celebrate and frolic in the warm weather.

In my area, one could probably attend a local carnival in a different town every week from now until the beginning of September.

My own small town (Clear Spring, MD) has a big one, this year during the first week of August.  It’s a time when all of the local organizations gather together to fund raise, manning food booths, carnival games, and drink stands in an effort to make money for the year’s upcoming activities.  There’s a different genre of music every night on the stage, and folks set up their lawn chairs hours in advance to hear 80’s cover bands, bluegrass, or heavy metal riffs power over the fairgrounds.

Kids squeal with delight as they ride the carousel, Ferris wheel, or watch as their father tries to score a direct hit and submerge the local coach in the dunk tank.  Teens preen and strut around the grounds, trying to entice the opposite sex into conversations or admiring glances.  Coins clink off tableware at the dime pitch and the voice of the bingo caller mingles with the scent of French fries in the humid, summer air.

If tradition holds, it usually is one of the rainiest weeks of the year, pelting carnival goers with buckets of heavy rain at some point in the evening.  I think the Good Lord has it out for the annual Clear Spring Fireman’s Carnival.  Maybe he doesn’t approve of all the tip jars being sold there.

It’s small-town America at its finest, and a tradition that gets handed down from generation to generation.

So, if you find yourself a little bored on a long summer evening, when the twilight lasts until well after 8:00PM, check the newspaper for a local carnival, take a summer drive, and follow your nose to the local grounds for a Norman Rockwell-esque evening of food, thrills, and entertainment.

See you at the carnival – and don’t come home with any damn hermit crabs or goldfish!