Click here for a schedule of events

Behind the scenes of the Carnation City Festival, various departments of the City of Alliance are spending countless hours keeping the Festival safe, clean and comfortable. You may not see them. When most of us go to a festival, we don’t pay much attention to how many tables are set-up, who takes away the trash, or who directs traffic. We just expect those services to be available. The City of Alliance works in conjunction with the Carnation City Festival Board to provide vital services for the success of the yearly festival.

For instance, the Parks Department moved seventy-nine picnic tables to the parking lot of the Carnation Mall for the Rib Burn-Off. They also took six tables to the Pump-In at the Castle. They gathered up those tables, all eighty-five of them, and took some of them to Days in the Park and some of them to Terrific Tuesday at the College Plaza. If you have ever lifted a picnic table, especially those big wooden ones, can you imagine moving eighty-five of them around town, not once, but three times?

The Parks Department also spends many hours getting the parks ready for the festival. A few years ago, permanent electric sources and an additional water line were run in the "valley" in Silver Park just for the vendors for Days in the Park. The department employees are on hand to do everything from emptying trash, to getting ice for vendors, to transporting handicapped folks, to cleaning the restrooms several times a day. They also put up the barricades for the Hot Air Balloons Lift-Off and the fireworks.

The Alliance City Police Department contributes many hours to the festival, both on duty, off duty, and with the Police Reserves. These officers work at the Rib Burn-Off, the Community Gala, Taking it to the Streets, Days in the Park, the Style Show, the Float security, the Kick-Off Parade, the Grand Parade, Terrific Tuesday, and the constant traffic control. One of their biggest headache is traffic. Police supervisors advise the following: "Please, park anywhere else but in Silver Park. Please park at the high school and take the shuttle bus." The Reserves especially deserve credit because they are unpaid volunteers. During the Triathalon/Duathalon, our Police Department even receives help from the Stark County Sheriff, the Portage County Sheriff, and the Marlboro Police.

Various other departments get in the act. The Mayor’s office sells tickets for the Mayor’s Breakfast, distributes brochures, and fields numerous phone calls about the festival activities. The Fire Department provides entertainment and education with the well-attended annual Pump-In. The Street Department provides barricades for the parades and downtown events. They also provide traffic cones (those annoying orange things) for the Kid’s Triathalon and the adult Triathalon/Duathalon. They use the street sweeper on the Mall parking lot and at Silver Park. They travel and repair the routes for the Triathalon and the parades and make sure they are free of obstacles.

Keep Alliance Beautiful makes sure there are trash receptacles at the various functions. Alliance Water Distribution hauled concrete barriers downtown this year to make sure the folks were safe in case a driver missed seeing a wooden barricade. The Health Department inspects and issues temporary food service permits every year to the food vendors. The Fire Department inspects the temporary food service vendors for fire safety. The Building Department even inspects the tents at the Rib Burn-Off for safety. Did I miss anyone? Ask any city worker about their festival duties and most will say they don’t mind it at all. It’s for the community to have a good time. Thanks to one and all for another great festival.