Oakland Carnival Returns to the Delight of Residents Eager to Socialize and Savor Scrumptious Zeppolis

The aroma of zeppolis and greasy cheeseburgers. The squeals of delighted children. The sight of revelers trying their luck at game booths.

This was the scene at Oakland’s annual carnival at the Alexander Potash Recreation Complex at the end of June, an event that ushers in the official start of summer.

Always a popular event, this year’s carnival was especially meaningful since the pandemic forced its cancellation last year. The return of the carnival, noted Mayor Linda Schwager, was a welcome sign of life going back to normal after more than a year of restrictions, hundreds of thousands of lives lost to the coronavirus, anxiety, stress and limited exposure to others.

Oaklanders were so eager to get back to having fun and seeing town activities resume that this year’s carnival attendance was up a whopping 41 percent over the past three years it was held.

“We were there last night celebrating our daughter’s last day of kindergarten,” said Julie Powers Lurie about the carnival. “For us, it was the perfect way to end this roller coaster of a school year, though it was a very successful school year given the circumstances. Being at the carnival made it feel like the town was back, which is a success for Oakland in itself.”

Thomas "Chopper" Russo, chairman of the borough’s Special Events Committee, which organized the carnival, was happy with the turnout.

“This was the best carnival by far,” said Russo. “It’s the most that many people have interacted with others in over a year. “

“A lot of places canceled their carnivals this year,” Russo said. “We decided to have ours, but we decided there would be no fireworks this year because of Covid."

"All the years I’ve been doing this with our [Oakland Special Events] team, I just love watching the kids’ eyes light up like big saucers when they’re on the rides or the [game] booths," he added. "It’s our little local Disney. I relive my childhood watching the children’s faces. I love when they go to measure their height and find out that now they can go on all the rides.”

Michael Kozak, a member of the Special Events Committee, which also puts together the town Easter Egg Hunt, the Halloween Parade and other events, said the carnival featured 15 rides. Many local nonprofits, such as the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts and Ponds Reformed Church, had booths that sold funnel cakes, sausage and peppers and pickles.

Jason McKenna and his young son rode all the rides.

“It’s really important to get back to our lives,” McKenna said.

Lisa Karp, who was volunteering at the Ponds Reformed Church booth, said their goal was to raise funds to rebuild the food pantry.

“It’s nice to see so many in our community” at the carnival, she said, “and just to have normalcy back.”

Kathleen Thatcher Neumann watched her granddaughter, Makenna, who is two years old, beam as she enjoyed the rides.

“This was her first carnival experience and she had a great time! I had just as much fun watching her.”