After a year of coronavirus-induced hiatus, the Smoky Mountain Shrine Club has returned to Franklin for its annual carnival.
The Shriners Carnival was a yearly celebration for over a decade before last year’s festivities were canceled. With COVID-19 several months old and mass gathering rules in full effect, there was no way to safely and legally stage the event. Fortunately, North Carolina has made great strides in fighting the virus over the last year. Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to roll back most restrictions in May was timed perfectly for organizers of this year’s summer carnival.
“We were pretty sure coming into this year that this one would happen,” said Andrew Norton, a vice president of the Shriners Club. “As soon as the governor said we were scaling back, we knew for sure that this one was on.”
The carnival is a fairly standard setup with a varied assortment of games, rides and fair food for Macon County locals and tourists to take in. Attendees can pay for individual attractions or purchase more expensive wristbands for unlimited rides. The carnival typically raises $5,000-$10,000 and this year’s carnival is expected to be a big step up from the last one held in 2019.
“The last one was only a four-day weekend,” volunteer Leon Ditch said. “This one will be 10 days, so it’s expanded quite a bit.”
The club uses money raised during the carnival for a variety of purposes connected to the Shriners Hospital for Children. The hospital is an important resource for many families whose children have special medical needs, and it relies heavily on donations to carry out its mission. Organizer Gregg Jones says that even raising enough money to cover transportation costs for a family living in Western North Carolina to go back and forth from the nearest location in Greenville can make a life-changing difference.
“It helps us towards our building and it helps us with transportation,” Jones said. “That money goes a long way.”
The carnival is also a breath of fresh air for Macon County at the end of a stressful and too-often joyless year of COVID-19. Organizers expect that at least 300-400 people passed through the carnival on its opening night, even though that night was a Thursday. Workers at the carnival saw a lot of smiling faces right from the start and that joy was contagious.
“It’s a really fun time for the kids,” said Gary Jones, who operates a game at the carnival. ”If they’re having a fun time, I’m happy.”
The carnival is in town from Thursday, June 3 through Saturday, June 12. Operations kick off at 5 p.m. each day and last tentatively until 11 p.m. The fairgrounds are located at the corner of Highlands Road and the US 441 Bypass, right across the street from L’Italiana.