Astoria Carnival
Astoria is densely populated but feels more home-like than Manhattan. Families and small businesses populate the town. Astoria is home to a melting pot of cultures: Greek, Middle Eastern, Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Colombians and much more. I was surprised as I walked from dinner last Thursday, that a carnival is planned at the local church. Even though the carnival is going to be small (space is limited even in Queens), I still wanted to go and experience it. I haven’t been to a carnival in years. I made a mental note of the days and times the fair was going to be held and planned to attend. I was happy to see it would be around the entire weekend, just in case I couldn’t go on one of the weekend days.
One of my passions as a child was carnivals. I liked the whole amusement park experience: games, food, rides, and the people. People go to carnivals to have fun and I like to see people happy. Of course I am not a kid anymore but I still like the whole experience. This past Friday, I decided to sneak a peek at the fair right before I headed to the gym. I was shocked to see how many people were there. I couldn’t believe there were this many children and teenagers in Astoria! It was nice to see people: young, old and in between come out and support the local parish. I felt a deep sense of community and belonging in Astoria, a sense I have never felt before. New York City is so densely populated, urban and people are so transient. It was nice to have a warm feeling of belonging to a community.
There were only a few rides, mostly little kid rides and a gigantic slide, a Ferris wheel and a ride called Rok and Roll that seemed like a lot of fun. I even wanted to ride! I watched kids, tweens, and teenagers giggle, laugh and squeal with delight as the carnival ride, Rok and Roll tossed them around and around, rolling them around like a ball. It was fun to watch and I reminisced my own carnival memories of my youth. Of course, besides the rides were games and food.
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Rows and rows of colorful stuffed animals lined the game truck. Again, I went back to my childhood days and thought about all of the stuffed animals I had. The game host was on a megaphone begging people to come play their games. and bellowing “Step right up! Win a bear! Come one, come all. Step right up!” Ahhh, memories. Sweet memories.
As a child, I delighted in carnival food: tacos, burgers, hot dogs, French fries, zeppoles, cotton candy, fried oreos and other great-tasting-but-bad-for -you- food. But, as a grown -up, I am conscience of what I eat, I easily passed these foods. What willpower I have! The sweet smell of powered sugar on top of the fried zeppoles wafted the air as I passed by. Ooh, it smelled so good!
I had so much fun people watching at the carnival I told my significant other about it. We came back to the carnival after our gym workout so he can have his own carnival experience. I am so glad we did because he loved it!
{images: All photos were taken by me and cannot be used without permission}
