Carnival Kraziness

Coral Wilson

Sometimes it feels great to get pie in the face, especially at a

carnival.

“Just don’t hit my nose, ‘cause it hurts,” said 12-year-old Lili Pash, making a last request before getting smashed with another pie.

The whipped cream got into her hair and even her eyes but Lili was

all smiles.

Laughter could be heard throughout Huntington Beach Central Park

as 200 Girl Scouts celebrated the culmination of the Huntington Beach

Girl Scout Assn.’s four-day Krazy Karnival Day Camp. The week ended

with the big event -- a carnival, complete with cotton candy.

There was face painting, a mummy wrap, a fishing booth, a Frisbee

toss and the Krazy Kan Knock Over. With the help of about 50 program

aides and 65 parent volunteers, the girls had worked hard, in between

songs and crafts.

“It’s hard to make a booth,” Hannah Wagner, 8, said. “I thought it

was easy but it was hard. You have to use a ton of paint. But when

the carnival comes, it’s really fun.”

Team members took turns tending their own booths and then making

the rounds. Many returned covered in beads, face paint, rub-on

tattoos, toilet paper and candy prizes.

The 14 cardboard booths had been hand-painted. The designers had

left their mark with a signature and a handprint.

“I learned to make jellyfish,” Nicole Brashears, 9, said, about

the fishing booth she had helped paint. “We kind of made up our own

way. And I learned to make sand. We didn’t have the right color so we

mixed the paint.”

And amid all the fun, there had been some important lessons

learned.

“The highlight was seeing the girls start to cooperate with each

other to get something done and to see them all have a good time,”

Elva Kopacz, business manager for the Huntington Beach community day

camps.

Lessons in teamwork were harder for some than for others.

“I learned mostly to work together, ‘cause I don’t work together

well,” Lauren Ross, 10, said. “I like it to be all about me. I like

to do everything.”

Volunteering as a program aide offered older Girl Scouts the

opportunity to acquire leadership hours that would go toward earning

the silver or gold award. Program aides faced their own set of

challenges.

“It’s hard to get the little ones to listen,” Molly Wenrick, 12,

said.

Five Girl Scouts completed their silver award project by caring

for the 3- to 5-year-old children of the parent volunteers. They

designed programs to keep the children entertained and participated

with their own booth.

“They never got to rest,” said Sarah Battis, silver award

coordinator. “They were counting, counting and counting little

heads.”

While the paint would soon wash away and the candy would be

quickly eaten, the laughter showed promise that the new friendships

would be long lasting.

Friendship is what the Girl Scouts are all about, parent Teri

Adkins said.

“I made a lot of new friends,” Meghan Wolf, 11, said, doing a quick count on her fingers. “Like 16 new friends.”