Carnival to feature music, food, art

KENT — The Kent Memorial Library will present the first annual Kent Carnival on Saturday at Golden Falcon Field, 20 North Main Street, Kent from noon to 3 p.m.

Golden Falcon Field will be buzzing with activities for all ages. There will be live music, Touch-a-Truck, free beverages, an obstacle course, a side show of oddities, a bouncy house, no-sew quilting project, mural art project, balloon animals, kids games, prizes, snacks and more.

The carnival is being spearheaded by the library’s director, Sarah Marshall.

“During a conversation with Bruce Adams and the library’s Outreach Committee, we were discussing the positive feelings associated with large town events, like the old Fireman’s Fair that happened every August. The whole town would come out and there was music and food and kids running around everywhere. People caught up with each other and shared stories about the summer. The fire department held the event as a fundraiser, but it was an incredible amount of work to put on the Fair for three days,” says Marshall.

“So I decided to try to reinvent it. The Casey family allowed us to use their property right on Main Street, but only if it was for nonprofits. I reached out to many organizations in town, and we have six or seven (so far) that are interested in participating. We’ll have games, food (we hope) music, art projects, and lots more. The organizations will make a little money, but, more importantly, have a chance to reach out to new volunteers and spread their message about what they do for town. Kent nonprofits are continuing to sign up, so there will likely be even more to do that day. We hope everyone comes out for a good time.”

If you represent a nonprofit organization and this is something you’d like to participate in, call Marshall at the library at 860.927.3761.

The library is located at 32 North Main Street, Kent. Visit kentmemorial library.org for more information.