Summer to be ushered in with 5-day carnival
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD - After 35 years, the carnival is coming back to town.

It's been that long since the Immaculate Conception Church last held its carnival. While no one seems to know for sure why the church stopped the festivities back in 1972, organizers couldn't be more excited about its return.

Monsignor Joseph Curry said the church is hoping not only to have its own parishioners out, but the community at large.

While the carnival will serve as a fundraiser for the church, with proceeds used to defray its services, Curry said the event could also be described as a "friend-raiser."

But the carnival is not coming without a cost and a lot of effort.

"It's a mammoth undertaking," Curry said, noting that hundreds of volunteers have banded together to make the event possible.

The carnival will run June 13-17 on the church grounds at 23 Manalapan Road, from 5 to 11 p.m. June 13-15; 2 to 11 p.m. on June 16; and 1 to 9 p.m. June 17.

There will be rides and games for all ages, and a large selection of foods. There will be a barbecue pit, as well as a food pavilion, including a beer garden, barbecue shish kabobs, sausage-and-pepper sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, cheese fries and more. Other food treats will include funnel cakes, ice cream, zeppole and Italian ices.

Organizers have planned special food nights, with June 13 being barbecue-pulled beef night, and Thursday, June 14 as barbecue rib night.

Laurie Caruso, who is handling public relations for the carnival, said Curry and school Principal Mary Hamm spearheaded the effort to bring the carnival back to the church, which dates to 1908 and moved to its current location around 1960.

The mother of two Immaculate Conception School students, Caruso said the parish and school families are a good group of people who came together to present the new carnival. The event is considered both a school and church function.

She said the carnival was always a big event when it was held pre-1972. Caruso noted that a nice feature this year is that it begins on the last day of school.

"If I was a kid, that'd be a dream come true," she said of the carnival transition to summer.

The carnival will feature nightly 50/50 drawings, and a super 50/50 on June 17. There will also be entertainment from local and New York radio stations.

In case of parking overflow, there will be a continuous shuttle bus going to the carnival grounds from the Spotswood High School parking lot. There also will be parking at the Appleby School on Vliet Street.

Though admission is free, there will be charges for the rides. Pay-one-price wristbands will be used June 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. and June 16 from 2 to 6 p.m. Beginning June 2, individual ride tickets can be bought after church masses. They will also be available for purchase during the carnival hours.

More information is available by calling the church at (732) 595-0345.