Vintage Carnival

 

I volunteer at a fantastic county park near our small town in Wisconsin.  The park is a special place where folks can learn about rural farm life of the 1920s and 1930s.  It is part of our mission to create engaging, interactive events that will capture the imagination of even our youngest visitors. Every year, we host an event called Heritage Fest, during which visitors can interact with antique machinery; see demonstrations of woodworking, broommaking, and cooking on a wood stove; walk our beautiful restored prairies; and explore the period farmhouse.

 

This year I'm in charge of the children's area.  This year I want to bring them an old-timey carnival.  To stay true to the 1920s -1930s time period, I can’t just roll into a big-box party store and buy prepackaged carnival-themed decor.  It has to look authentic and be created on a minimal budget.

To gather ideas, I searched Pinterest for inspiration.  There I found images of classic carnival games and ideas for how to make game booths.  As soon as I saw an image of a game booth created from a wooden shipping pallet, I knew that was the route I was going to take.  The rustic look and feel of the distressed wood, plus a typical pallet's size, would definitely give me the look I was after.

I had a clear vision of what I wanted to create and what supplies I would need.  Now I just had to keep my eyes open to find them!  And find them I did.

 

After grocery shopping one day, as I left the parking lot, I came across a building-site dumpster.  In it, I found five pallets - each in pretty good shape.  I loaded them into my truck and took them home.

First, I gave each pallet a good wash.  I then set them out in the sun to dry.  

 

         

Next, I inspected each one and removed any staples, nails, or large splinters.  I repaired any pallets that had loose boards.  Finally, I sanded any rough patches on the wood.

  

Because I needed the pallets to stand on their own, I attached a piece of 2" x 4" to each side of the pallets on the bottom to stabilize them and keep them upright.  I used three long wood screws at each intersection. 

Once all my pallets stood upright and felt sturdy, it was time to decorate them and start collecting components for the carnival games.  I chose five simple classic games: duck pond, bean bag toss, bushel basket ball, ring toss, and cake walk.

        

I bought two pieces of old barn siding.  I loved the red weathered paint.  I cut the siding into 5 sections, sealed the wood, then added stick-on letters to spell out each game's name.  The letters didn't stick well, so I decoupaged over them to ensure they'd withstand the elements.  I then made decorative fabric swags to drape across the pallets.

With the carnival game backboards complete, it was time to find and collect the game components.  

I looked around the farm's farmhouse, old barn, and machine shed, as well as in my own collections, for pieces that could serve as game components.  Happily, I found several items.  What I couldn't source on our own, I purchased online or found a creative solution.

 

 

One of my favorite cookie snacks comes packaged in a tall can, perfect for the "knock down" game.  I bought ten packages, put the cookies in my freezer, and kept the empty cans.  I filled the cans with two cups of dried beans and super-glued the tops back on.  

Finally, I wrapped them in colorful, sticky-back paper.  With homemade beanbags, the "knock down" game was complete.  Players will get three chances to knock down the tower.

Purchasing a set of twenty-four rubber ducks, two dowel rods, and some cup hooks completed the duck pond game.  The fantastic galvanized wash tub came from the farm!  I simply screwed a cup hook into the head of each duck and at the end of each dowel rod to make the "fishing poles" and duck hooks.  Each duck will have a number on its bottom, 1-12.  Players will hook a duck and look at the bottom of the duck to see if he or she has hooked a "lucky ducky" 7.

We purchased four half-bushel baskets and attached them to the pallet backboard.  Three playground kickballs completed the bushel basket ball game.  Players will attempt to shoot all three balls into the baskets.

For the ring toss game, I gathered an old wooden soda bottle crate, six empty glass soda bottles, and purchased a set of jute rope rings.  Players will get 5 throws to ring a bottle.

Finally, we ordered a set of numbered spot dots to arrange in a circle for the cake walk.  Participants will walk around the circle to music, stepping on the numbered dots.  When the music stops, the caller will pull a numbered button from a button bag.  The person standing on the number matching the button number wins!

I've set up the games in my garage to get an idea of what the farmyard lawn will look like on the day of Heritage Fest.  I'm pleased with the results.  When I headed out to the farm to return a few of the borrowed items, I came upon a folding sign.  Oh!  I just had to find a use for it!  I decided to make a selfie station for farm visitors to document their experience at Heritage Fest.   

And what better than a good, old-fashioned Kissing Booth!  No one will be giving out kisses at this kissing booth, though.  Folks taking selfies will need to provide their own smoochers and smoochees!

To learn more about Schumacher Farm Park and our annual Heritage Fest celebration, visit our website, click Events, then Heritage Fest.

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All photos taken by Paulette Rodriguez.