Cecil Firemen’s Carnival Returns with Attractions for Young and Old

Next week residents can hang out with their friends and neighbors at the firemen’s carnival——grab a drink at the bar and let their kids loose to play games and go on rides.

The firemen will be throwing their annual carnival at the on Millers Run Road from Monday to August 4.

“The local people kind of look forward to it because they see their friends they haven’t seen in a while,” said Cecil Township fire Chief Dennis Berty.

There will be attractions for the young and old with carnival rides and games provided by Tropical Amusements (tickets to ride all night are $15 a person from 7-11 p.m.) for the kids, small games of chance and a fully stocked bar for the adults.

The fire department will get a percentage of the total ticket sales from Tropical Amusements at the end of the event.

“At some places you can only get a beer or a wine cooler,” said Berty who described the various mixed drinks—rum and coke, apple vodka, whiskey sours, etc.— and other alcohol that will be available to carnival patrons who are 21 and older. The bar is made possible because of the fire department's liquor license.

After friends and neighbors grab a drink they can play several small games of chance including a big-six wheel and a dice table. These games are run by the firemen and all proceeds go directly to the department.

“The people in our town are really good about coming out to support the fire department,” said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Povirk.

For hungry patrons there will also be a variety of different carnival foods and dinner choices all week. Berty said Tropical Amusements will sell things such as funnel cake, candied apples and popcorn, but there will also be dinners every night provided by the department's Ladies Auxiliary, a group of volunteers who support the fire department.

Every night next week the ladies will provide carnival staples such as hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and walking tacos—and then a nightly special dinner.

The whole event will culminate with a parade on Saturday with a surplus of firetrucks and candy.

“I’ve been a fireman for 42 years and we’ve had a parade every one of those 42 years,” Povirk said.

Although the carnival is hard work and takes around a year of planning, the ends justify the means to Povirk, and he said he is glad Cecil Township’s hasn’t fallen to the wayside like so many other firemen's fairs.

“We laugh about it at the firehall. We don’t really look forward to [the carnival] but when it gets here it’s a lot of fun,” Povirk said.

-----

Povirk provided Patch with the Ladies Auxiliary dinner menu for next week. There’s only a limited amount, so get there early to chow down before the nightly special is sold out:

Monday: Cabbage and noodles, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and ham BBQ
Tuesday: Hot sausage sandwich and cabbage and noodles
Wednesday: Kielbasa with sauerkraut, and pierogies
Thursday: Hot sausage and ham BBQ
Friday: Roast beef
Saturday: Roast beef, BBQ pulled pork and leftovers