A carnival of caring

The Fun Frolic carnival that begins tomorrow will be improving kids' lives not only for the week the carnival is here, but for years to come. Twenty percent of the profits will be split between IU Child Care Services and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Monroe County.\nBig Brothers, Big Sisters Development Director Tom Hargis said the program receives a little more than $25,000 every year because of the carnival.\n"It goes to support essentially everything we do," Hargis said. \nThat includes recruiting, screening and training volunteers to be a big brother or sister to a child. Big Brothers, Big Sisters served more than 780 kids last year, which was a 48 percent increase from the year before, Hargis said. Because of this growth, it is important to know that there will be money coming in year after year.\n"A funding source like this is very important when we're trying to plan for the next year," Hargis said.\nIn return for the contribution to the IU Child Care Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Cumberland Valley Shows, the business that provides the carnival, doesn't have to pay rent on the space they're occupying, said Cumberland Valley Shows manager Jeremy Floyd.\nThe carnival will begin at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the IU parking lot west of Memorial Stadium and will last until around midnight. On Saturdays and Sunday, the carnival will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight, and during the week it will be open daily from 6 p.m. to midnight.\nThe Fun Frolic will last until next Saturday. There is no cover charge, and tickets cost 75 cents individually or $15 for 24 tickets. Rides will cost between three and five tickets. \nTomorrow there is a special wristband deal; people can buy a bracelet for $15 that allow the wearer unlimited rides for that night.\n"The best day to go is on the wristband day," said junior Irene Hawkins, who went last year.\nOther specialty nights include Dollar Day this Sunday, when all rides and selected foods and games will cost $1, and "Last Blast" next Saturday, when people will be able to buy a wristband that allows unlimited rides from 3 to 7 p.m.\nThe carnival will feature about 30 rides and 30 stands for games and food, said Cumberland Valley Shows general manager Jason Floyd, Jeremy's brother. There will be the traditional Ferris wheel, a spinning machine called Starship 2000 and the Super Shot, a ride in which a car is raised 100 feet up a tower and then shot back down.\nCumberland Valley Shows has been providing Bloomington with the Fun Frolic since at least 1983, said Jason Floyd. The Fun Frolic has been an annual event hosted by various groups since 1957.\nSenior Kevonda Woods went last year and said she plans on going again this year.\n"It was really a 'fun frolic,'" she said.