Every year, the Mendham carnival comes into town, and makes Borough Park exponentially fill with people, all there to do one thing. Have fun. With plethoras of neon lights, and sounds of overjoyed people trying to get their last moments of summer in before working life resumes. All year, people look forward to this carnival as source of entertainment and community. That made it even more heartbreaking when last year it had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, though, the Mendham Pastime Club’s annual Carnival is back to serenade summer’s end. 

Mendham High School Sophomore, Rachel Havey, has been attending this carnival ever since she moved to Mendham in second grade. “It’s kind of the big summer event” she explains, going on to saw how both adults and children alike eagerly anticipate the first weekend of September.  The carnival has always been largely a communal affair, Havey explaining how she always feels “a strong spirit of environment,” at the carnival. 

When COVID hit, the closure to the end of the summer had to be canceled, blurring the lines between summer living, and working.  Rachel recalls that she “was definitely a little sad,” when the carnival was canceled. “I know how much the town looks forward to it.” Other carnivals “just aren’t as connected as the one here in Mendham.” 

The main attractions at the carnival are always the games and rides. Rachel’s favorite ride is The Zipper. At this

attraction, people are locked into a cart and spun around in any possible direction. There are rides for people of varying comfort levels. From the Spinning Teacups to the Gravitron, and even fire truck rides, there is something there for everyone.

Between the music of back-to-back games–preoccupying people with “trying to win prizes, [they] can’t actually win”– and the screams of people getting thrown around on rides until their stomach is inside out, creates the perfect way to end a Mendham Summer.