Exhilarating Exhaustion

Overheard a lot at the annual New Hampton Elementary School Carnival Friday night were two words: “I’m exhausted.”
Of course, that was the view of the parents.
The kids on the other hand? Well, we’re guessing most of them slept well that night, although the amount of sugar they inhaled may have inhibited that a bit.
The reality of the carnival is that it may be short — doors open at 5:30 for food, the carnival kicks off at 6 and the doors close at 8:15 — but the amount of energy in and around the gymnasium at the downtown school complex would light up Iowa for a a few days.
It’s, in a word, exhausting … if you’re lugging children around, that is.
If you’re a child, though, it’s this joyful experience — one filled with games and a crescendo of noise that make it, well, the carnival.
The object is to win tickets to claim prizes … or cakes … or pop.
The latter comes from the New Hampton Lions Club and Boy Scouts ring toss, where Noah Jenkins may have been the ultimate king on Friday night.
“I finished with 20,” the sixth-grader said with a laugh, “and I’m not sharing.”
Running the games — ranging from Plinko to golf to basketball to spinning the big wheel, just to name several — were a host of community volunteers and New Hampton High School students, which may be one of the coolest parts of the carnival.
Still, the best may be the prize table, where kids turned in their tickets and went shopping, so to speak.
Ask little Everett Dungey, who clutched his winning tickets and took in the inventory.
What do you want?
“Something cool.”
 
For more of this article, see Tuesday's Tribune.

*/