BRAZIL — Excitement, fun and lots of tasty food for good causes is available today at the Brazil Rotary Club Fourth of July Celebration in Forest Park.
Hundreds of people enjoyed the carnival Friday afternoon and several Wabash Valley churches and other organizations used the event to raise money for worthy causes.
“Our goal is to be ahead of the punch,” said Tom Hess, pastor of the Berea Christian Church in Brazil, which is selling food and snacks to raise money for volunteer disaster relief efforts.
Berea volunteers have been to several disaster sites to help victims in the past, Hess said.
The church sent three teams to the Gulf Coast to help with rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
“If we can’t show people we care in a practical way, we might as well just shut up,” Hess explained.
Other Clay County churches were taking advantage of the carnival to raise money for good causes, as well. The Saline City Community Church was selling Italian beef and fried Oreos to raise money for its youth group while the Friendly Benwood Community Church was selling chicken and noodles for its youth camp.
“Chicken and noodles is our specialty,” said Perry Mager, president of the youth camp’s board of directors.
Meanwhile, several yards away, the midway was coming to life about 5 p.m. as rides started to open and carnival games began.
“It was fun,” said Morgan Trivett after climbing off of the Dragon Wagon, a child-sized roller coaster at the festival. “On the curves it was a lot faster,” she said.
Other rides at the carnival included the Octopus, a Tilt-a-Whirl, a large Ferris wheel, the Ali Baba and many others. Teenage girls’ screams pierced the air as the Ali Baba ride took groups of seated riders about 50 feet into the air.
The festival also includes traditional carnival treats, such as funnel cakes, corn dogs and cotton candy.
Carnival games are also a large part of the Brazil Rotary’s festival. Dart throwing at small balloons, basketball shooting and other traditional standbys could be found up and down the carnival midway.
“This is our first year here,” said Joe Kuta, the operator of The Mouse Game, which involves a mouse running from a wooden box into one of 96 holes on a rotating table. If you place a quarter on a spot that includes the correct number, you win a prize. “People love the mouse,” Kuta said.
Very rarely does a mouse escape the rotating table and jump out, Kuta said. Once, however, a mouse that was brand new to the game managed to leap off of the spinning table and land in a woman’s popcorn, he recalled. “Popcorn went everywhere,” he said. “But she came back the next day.”
Ring toss is another carnival favorite at the Brazil festival.
“They must put grease on the bottles,” said Drake Beauchamp, 9, who threw more than a dozen small plastic rings at glass bottles only to have them all miss their intended targets. Still, Drake was given a hat and a paddleball game as a consolation prize for trying and said he was looking forward to playing more games.
Also at the festival, the Northview Marching Knights were serving up smoothies and Pepsi products to raise money for their defending state champion band and color guard units.
“We practice a lot,” said Taylor Mikles, a senior at Northview, explaining why her school’s band program is historically so successful. “We just finished band camp [Friday],” she said. Mikles was joined in the Northview tent by her mother, Peggy Mikles as well as North Clay eighth-grader Emilee Edington and Northview freshman Kaitlynn Roe.
Other organizations raising money at the festival include the Carbon Baptist Church, Christian Fellowship Campers, the McKinley Hill Church and the First United Methodist Church, which was selling Ritter’s Frozen Custard.
The Brazil Rotary Club’s Fourth of July Celebration festival continues today in Forest Park. The festival is scheduled to conclude this evening with a fireworks display beginning at dusk. The fireworks display will be set to music played on WSDM, the CROCK 92.7 FM, according to the Brazil Rotary Club’s Web site.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Brazil holiday bash helping worthy causes
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
2012 Grammys: LL Cool J
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Lusetich: AT&T Rd. 3 recap
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Absolute Lin-sanity
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
