Sasha Prasad

The Sacred Heart school campus was lit up by the neon lights of rides and game stations.

Live music played in the background and the decorated lights illuminated the transformed parking lot on Sept. 12-13 as dozens of people — ranging from newborn babies in strollers to grown adults — entered the Sacred Heart School campus. 

They were there for an adored annual tradition: the Sacred Heart Carnival. 

I attended the carnival on Saturday evening and was surprised by the overwhelming number of cars surrounding the area. While other parking lots like Saratoga Library’s were filled to the brim, I was luckily able to park in a neighborhood street close to the carnival within a couple minutes. However, the majority had to circle around multiple times before finding a spot. In retrospect, walking would have been easier.

As a carnival ride enthusiast, I ran to the wristband booth as soon as I entered. Ecstatic, I ran to the booth until I realized I had to pay an absurd price of $25 for only 16 credits, which would only be enough for three rides! Not to worry though — I ended up going on four rides, recharging my wristband for $6 after it ran out. 

The rides I rode were included the Dixie Twister, where pairs spin their [cart] with a circular wheel while swinging at  a 45-degree angle from the ground; Round Up, where riders stand along the border of a circle as it spins around and lifts up vertically; Sizzler, where riders sit in pairs of two to three and are whisked from one side to another and finally the classic Ferris Wheel. I didn’t dare go on the Pendulum ride that flung people in a full 360-degree motion. 

I thought the most thrilling ride was the Sizzler, even though it was slightly painful to be shoved into the person next to me at high speeds. Unfortunately, I missed out on a few rides I wanted to try — such as the Fun Slide and the Dizzy Dragon — because of the ticket prices.

Though I chose to not recharge my tickets fairly early into the evening, it was a pleasure simply walking around the event. Members of the Morrison Lingard Family are Diamond Sponsors of the Sacred Heart Carnival. They also performed the live music and amassed a fairly large crowd consisting mainly of adults and smaller children.

All around the carnival, there were many booths with a variety of food options, ranging from snacks like cotton candy and popcorn to meals like tacos and pizza. My personal favorite were the nachos, which were well worth the line wait time. 

There were also many carnival games which were, again, very expensive. These games were fun but nearly impossible to win — though  maybe that’s just because I have bad aim.

 

Overall, the carnival had many engaging attractions (for those willing to spend money) and was a great opportunity to socialize with friends. Personally, I have continued to go every year from freshman to senior year, despite my annoyance with the high prices. For me, the experience of carnival lights and local fun with my friends is worth it.