For 30 years Robert Treskot, treasurer of the Walnutport Playground Association, has been organizing the Walnutport Playground Association Carnival with the help of his family.

"It used to be a fire company event but we took it over in 1986," Treskot said."It's a tradition, something people look forward to every year," he said.The carnival will take place from 6-11 p.m. at the playground on Lincoln Street, with rides, food and bands every night until its closing at 11 p.m. Saturday.Treskot, along with daughter Gale Husack and close to 100 volunteers, will work to keep the 42nd annual event running smoothly over the course of the week."We see a lot of local community members come out and support it," Husack said.The weeklong carnival will light up the sky Friday night with a fireworks display put on by local company Celebration Fireworks."We had a meeting one night and said, 'What can we do to bring more people out?' So we contacted Celebration Fireworks," he said."If it weren't for PenTeleData and Blue Ridge donating money we couldn't have fireworks," Treskot said.Wednesday night's music will start at 7 p.m., with Dave Rehrig and the Fever Band, Thursday will be Social Call, Friday night will host Country Rhythm Band and Saturday's band will be Hydraulic Lime Band with Beautiful Oblivion singer Victoria Rose Lear as the opener for the week."The rain is the biggest challenge," Husack said. "Last year Social Call was rained out, so we brought them back this year.""They are all local bands that play around here in social halls and events," Husack said. "They all come back every year."Leon's french fries will be present at the carnival along with the association's own food stand.The association's stand will feature a new item called "The Happy Bowl," a layer of homemade filling topped with turkey barbecue and covered in gravy. Crowd favorite pierogies casserole will also be served."We don't have anyone else selling the things we have," Treskot said.Wednesday and Saturday nights will have ride specials where wrist bands can be purchased for all the rides at $15."This year we added a basket raffle. We expect to have 40-50 baskets," he said. The drawing will take place Saturday night.The event is rain or shine unless thunder threatens the skies."If the attendance is down for the weather, we will close earlier," Treskot said.According to Treskot, if more volunteers were signed on to help out, more activities could be hosted during the week."Our problem is getting help to run stands. I do get volunteers from the softball and baseball teams but we have a couple hundred slots to fill. We need 30 per shift," Treskot said."This event is what the playground uses to pay for the lights and fees," he said."The funds really help with the playground throughout the year. We depend a lot on this carnival. There are people who donated throughout the year but every little bit helps," he said."It's a community event. It's what we remembered growing up as kids. It's what we did," Husack said. "Ever since I started coming I've been working behind the scenes but I couldn't wait to get that candy apple every year and to meet up with friends I hadn't seen since school," she reminisced of the traditional carnival.The carnival's fireworks will take place Friday at 10 p.m., with the rain date set for Saturday night.