Southport Central School was the setting for the first ever kids' carnival. On July 13, more than 100 children, with parents in tow, went to the school for fun, food, games and activities.

The carnival was sponsored by the Southport Island Association as a fundraiser for the school. SIA President Barbara Baseman elicited the help of treasurer Donald Duncan and student parents Medea Harris and Stephanie Guite.

“We invited Medea to run the event,” Baseman said. “She's a fabulous young Southport mom, and I told her we wanted to sponsor an old-fashioned carnival for the young people. Medea agreed and asked the school to be a part of it.”

Harris approached Principal Marcelle Durost about using the school grounds for the event.

Harris and Guite, along with several other parents, were there keeping an eye on the kids and orchestrating the activities and competitions.

Harris’ husband, Bruce, and another father, Doug Goldhirsh, manned the food booth. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, coleslaw, watermelon, chips, popcorn, root beer floats, and lemonade. All proceeds from the food sales went to support the sixth grade students' end of the year trip. They'll take a vote to decide where they'll go. Other similar events have taken place to raise money for the class trip in previous years, but this was the first carnival.

Booths included: Face Painting, Nautical Nails and Tattoos; Nautical Knot Tying; Lobster Toss; Duck Hunt; Water Balloon Toss; Bounce House; Nautical Flag Making; Photo Booth; Root Beer Floats and Popcorn Booth.

Contests included: Cod Fish Relay; Tug of War; Limbo and Pie Eating Contest.

Over the course of the afternoon, beginning at 3 and ending at 7, there wasn't a dull minute.

In an email, Medea Harris said a huge thank you goes out to Durost. “Mrs. Durost, or Mrs. D as she is known by the kids, is an incredibly giving person who has really created a wonderful learning environment at that school. Yesterday was a reflection of the residents of Southport coming together to enjoy one another’s company, and to do something fun for the kids on the island, both those who are visiting for the summer and those who call Southport home year-round.

“The Southport Island Association has always been really supportive of the school, and this event allowed us to come together and hopefully give the kids some really fun memories to take with them,” Harris went on to say. “It's a pretty good day when you can say that you spent the afternoon running a relay race with a dead fish, stuffing your face with pie, and floating a cardboard boat across the Southport School pond — not to mention the rockin' limbo contest and lobster toss. I believe Southport resident Robert Shaw (age 10) won that event with a toss of 80 feet!”

There was a never-ending line waiting to get into the giant tiger bounce house. Inside, kids were jumping and bouncing around, doing cartwheels, and generally just having a blast.

It was a great turnout for the first ever Southport kids’ carnival — for kids and parents alike. It was a hot day, but a cool breeze was blowing over the school grounds, and everyone was having fun.

By all accounts, the carnival will probably become an annual event.

Baseman said she couldn't have been happier. “We're sitting here with smiles on our faces. Look at this beautiful day. We are so pleased with the turnout.”