Carnivals are His Business

When Bill George and the Greater Hatboro Chamber of Commerce decided to start a carnival, they never realized it would turn into what the Hatboro Summer Fun Festival Carnival has, raising money for local non-profits, bringing the community together and being one of the largest local events.

For the past five years, Miller Meadow on York Road has been made-over each summer, going from an open field to the Hatboro carnival. For the sixth year, the carnival will open Friday at 6 p.m. and run to June 4, with a fireworks display the evening of June 3.

“I’ve been told we have the best fireworks display around,” George, a local resident, business owner and president of the Greater Hatboro Chamber of Commerce, said. He estimates that there is about $7,000 worth of fireworks this year. “In Hatboro we don’t do little events, we only do big ones.”

Along with being the president of the chamber, George also owns two companies in Hatboro: Computer Solutions Consulting and Pennypack Entertainment, which assists in setting up the carnival through donations.

“This is my baby,” George said. “It’s more than just a carnival in a parking lot, that’s why we call it the summer fun festival.”

George has been putting carnivals together since he was about 10 or 11 years old through volunteer work, meaning he’s been around the scene for almost 30 years. In Pennsylvania, George puts together about 15 carnivals a year, most recently in Morrisville and Bristol.

“It’s not so much carnivals,” George said. “I work with these nonprofits to make it a little bit better, a little bit bigger.”

Many of the non-profits he works with are unsure of the steps needed to plan an event, such as a carnival, and so his company comes in and assists, enabling the groups to raise more money than they would have been able to otherwise.

In addition to benefitting The Greater Hatboro Chamber of Commerce, five other nonprofits - the Rotary Club of Hatboro, Union Library, Enterprise Fire Company, and the revitalization projects of Main Street and Elm Street - benefit from Hatboro's annual carnival. 

“It’s always nice to be able to fundraise,” Harriet Ehrsam, librarian at the Union Library, said. She said this year the carnival is even more crucial to the library, due to state budget cuts.

“It was a good fundraiser for us,” Enterprise Fire Company President Chris Gowen said. “We have a vast resource of people.”

Gowen said he hopes to raise about $15,000, but realistically what was raised last year for the company — about $5,000 — is expected.

“It’s a true community event,” George said. “Every dime is put back into Hatboro.”

Nonprofit fundraising is derived from carnival admission, which costs $2 for adults, $1 for students, and free for children under 12. Police, EMS workers, firefighters and military also get in free but require ID. Ride tickets range from $1 for a single up to $49 for a mega band, which allows for unlimited rides all week. 

“My favorite part is seeing all the smiling faces,” George said. “When you see all your hard work come together it makes it all worth it.”