Dear Carnival Volunteers,
As everyone knows, planning for the 2020 carnival was brought to a halt last April as pandemic emergency stay at home orders were put in place across the country. This broke a string of over 50 years of the St. Charles Carnival, a major parish fundraiser and community event highlighting the beginning of summer.
2021 again finds us in a unique situation. With the distribution of two major vaccines increasing daily, the recent approval of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, along with more potential vaccines on the horizon and the declining infection rates, we are hopeful that we can host a carnival in some capacity in June. While this information is hopeful, we do not have real visibility on when the governor will significantly ease outdoor gatherings. Even so, we must plan for the possibility that he will.
One of the most important aspects of this is to add layers of safety for our volunteers and guests. As such, we have spoken to our various vendors about how to sanitize games and rides. We are looking at adding extra tent seating to spread out our dinner patrons, adding bathroom sanitation personnel and providing masks, gloves, sanitizer, and proper signage throughout the grounds. All food handlers and game workers will wear masks and disposable gloves.
We understand and respect that everyone’s comfort level is different. While there are many areas we can focus on, one of the most important areas is our volunteers and their willingness to help make the 2021 carnival a reality, even if it is scaled back in size for this year. Your input is critical to our ability to operate in 2021.
The Carnival is scheduled for Monday, June 14th through Saturday, June 19th, 2021.