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Carousel: Village homecoming |
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Monday, 15 June 2009 |
 Crystal and Michelle Altstaetter and Paige Oakley spin themselves as fast as they can on a ride at the Botkins Carousel on Saturday afternoon. It was their first ride after the haunted house which scared them. By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
BOTKINS — For as long as most people in a northern Shelby County village can remember they’ve been getting together for the annual Botkins Carousel.
“I was born and raised in Botkins,” Trisha Schaub said. “I come every year. It feels like a family reunion. That’s how I refer to it.”
Schaub said in addition to catching up on local news and visiting with family and friends, she enjoys the festival for its food, particularly the bratwurst.
Jessica Meyer said she has always enjoyed the different activities at the Carousel — euchre, cornhole and dodgeball tournaments.
Her family and friends always get together for the Carousel Parade on Sunday.
“It’s a fun time,” Barb Krebs said. “It brings all the community together and the whole community works on it together.”
She said the Friday night Miss Carousel pageant gets the event started and family groups entertained throughout the night. This year Hannah Geyer won the Miss Carousel pageant, with Chelsea Maurer as runner-up.
“We’re going on 45 years,” Connie Mangen said. “There’s lots of good food to eat, things for the kids to do – rides and an activity tent, and other activities for all ages.”
She said local organizations profit from the festival and people come back no matter where they are each year, especially on Saturday night.
“We’ve been coming since we were kids, since before we can remember,” Mangen said.
Ali Reed was visiting for her first time from Wisconsin.
“It seemed like the thing to do while we were in town,” Reed said. “We’ve rode rides and ate ice cream.”
Luke Bergnan, 10, competed in the “Battle of Botkins” dodgeball tournament for the first time and by Saturday afternoon his team, the Mean Machines, had already won one of the three required games in the 12 and younger division.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Bergnan said. “It’s a big deal every year.”
Micah Smock, another member of the team that has competed in the tournament for three years, said its fun “crushing the older kids.”
Hope Alig, 4, started riding rides when they opened at noon Saturday and was still going a couple hours later.
Her mother, Candace Alig, said they would spend most of the day at the Carousel and would be back Sunday for the parade and free pony rides afterward.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 June 2009 )
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