Laughter, fun coming to Aurora Park Saturday

The sounds of carnival games will be making its way into Aurora Park Saturday for the sixth annual Carnival in the Park celebration hosted by Integrated Treatment Services.

Terry Sallis, executive director of Integrated Treatment Services, said the idea for the carnival is to give kids and their families the opportunity to have fun without the worry of having to spend money, much like at other fairs and events around the state.

“Everything at the carnival is free ... You can’t sell anything at the carnival. I don’t want people thinking that they have to have money to come there to purchase anything,” Sallis said.

Carnival in the Park will feature food, games, rides, tattoos and many other activities for everyone to take part. The ever-popular dunk tank will be available again this year with local celebrities getting dunked into the water from a well-placed throw.

“The mayor agreed to go into the dunk tank again,” Sallis said.

One of the featured entertainment offerings will be train rides.

“We got Mike Burke who brings his trains up from here from Waterloo so the kids can have train rides throughout the park,” Sallis said. “We couldn’t do this without the community support and people volunteering and helping.”

The carnival partners with Montana Mike’s to provide free food including hot dogs and burgers.

Money can often be a stressor for families when it comes to events. This can lead to not being able to participate in something at an event, taking away from the enjoyment.

“The purpose of it is to provide an atmosphere of bringing the community together,” Sallis said.

The carnival will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Aurora Park in Newton. All are invited to stop out with the family to have a great time and enjoy everything the carnival has to offer.

“The goal is for the children to come out and have a good time,” Sallis said.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com