Oh the carnival is coming back to Manchester. And it’s a great idea. Benefitting the ME Hornets Athletic Boosters, the “HarvestFest” carnival at Masconomo Park, scheduled for October 20-22 , will bring all the fairway fun, including a ferris wheel, fairway games, food, and local fun.
Many locals remember Manchester’s Carnival at Masconomo Park and they’ve wished for its return. Last year, Emily McCavanagh heads up the Boosters and was approached by Tyler Pinstein, a Manchester native who wanted to partner to bring the annual carnival back.
For those who aren’t aware, carnivals have been baked into Manchester’s ethos from way back in its history; in fact, in 1890s, the Cricket ran an alert for the community’s first carnival, which combined coastal “illuminations” (early fireworks and coastal fires) with the beauty of the sea.
Incredibly, the event benefited—you guessed it!—the local athletic association:
“The seaside athletic association, who are ever alert to keeping the ball moving in Manchester, have now under consideration to the matter of a harbor illumination … will gladly take hold and help make the carnival a success. It deserves to be, both by financial aid, and a generous illumination of their residences and grounds. … We trust the projections of the scheme will meet with all of the encouragement necessary to make the carnival a success, for everything of this kind helps wonderfully to make good impressions upon the minds of summer visitors, as well as affording a very pleasant sight to our own people, and a strong indication that Manchester is alive to the times.” (Manchester Cricket, July 25, 1891).
McCavanagh and Pinstein have been working for nearly a year to bring back the carnival, which faded from the municipal calendar over a decade ago.
The pair organized the vendors and sponsors, and set the date to take advantage of a gap in the Manchester calendar. They wanted their event to be after Festival by the Sea (August) and Cape Ann Plein Air (early October) but before the Holiday Stroll. Perfect. And it’s about getting everyone together for just one obligation: fun. And it’s raising money for just one central cause that families can rally around: local athletics.
“The truth is when you pull together an event of this size there is no way to do it alone,” said Emily McCavanagh of the Boosters. “There are people in our neighborhood who deserve to be honored and celebrated not just for the help they have provided for this carnival but for the carnivals of the past.”
McCavanaugh has received help from a list of locals who remember the carnival and stepped in to do what they could.
Craige “Cracker” McCoy said he had been involved with the carnival and was eager to share the history. In his 80s, McCoy even offered to volunteer. Margarett “Muffin” Driscoll forwarded old Cricket articles that highlighted past carnivals. Also, as a former ME Athletic Boosters member who helped run many past carnivals, Driscoll offered to share information. Ed Conway shared ideas of what worked and what did not.
Others shared pictures, offered stories, and volunteered to sell tickets for this new carnival team.
Even Robert Booth of the Manchester Historical Museum offered to haul the museum’s restored Singing Beach Bath House to the carnival grounds as a show of Manchester’s past.
“Yes, it’s a fundraiser for ME Athletic Boosters, but it’s also a chance to showcase the rich arts and entertainment scene in our school system and community,” said McCavanagh.
