Carnival to Benefit Church’s Homeless, Haiti Efforts

UPDATE (5:30 a.m.) —The carnival operating this week at East Bel Air Avenue next to the B&O Railroad station benefits the Word of Faith International Outreach church on Loflin Road in Aberdeen.

Word of Faith, which runs the Harvest of Hope homeless outreach ministry on Route 40, will use carnival proceeds to help finance the operation and other local programs. The money will also go toward completing a school and church in Haiti, according to church pastor Melvin T. Taylor.

“We’re just a small ministry but we do a lot of good in Aberdeen,” Taylor said. “The proceeds from this will help support us putting in bathrooms in the school in Haiti and it will help buy classroom supplies and bibles.”

Sherwood Amusements Inc., of Upper Falls, will operate the carnival for the church through Saturday. The carnival opens at 6 p.m. and will close nightly at approximately 10 p.m. The carnival will open at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Some area merchants have been annoyed because people attempted to park in front of their shops, taking up customer spaces.

Others have questioned the safety of the carnival’s location.

“Why would you stick a carnival that close to the railroad tracks on a street with traffic going 35 to 40 miles per hour?” asked Patrice Cox, who works nearby.

Taylor said that despite the criticism, the location has been a blessing. The church had arranged the carnival with Sherwood Amusements in advance, but had trouble getting permission to set up from other commercial property owners.

“We didn’t have anywhere to go,” Taylor said.

But local businessman Art Helton came to the church’s rescue, allowing the church to use the property because it has the proper zoning, Taylor said.  

"He didn't charge us a dime," Taylor said of Helton.

Helton said Wednesday that he understands how difficult it can be to raise funds for ministry programs because he serves as the stewardship chair for his own church.

"The only thing I get out of it is helping the church," Helton said.

City Manager Doug Miller said the church obtained a temporary use permit on March 23 to hold the event. The carnival opened on Monday night. Police spokesman Lt. Fred Budnick said an extra overtime detail has been assigned to the carnival to give the event more police presence.

"For the most part, police presence is enough to make sure there are no problems," Budnick said.

The church has not been charged for the detail, he said.

“When I saw those little kids on those rides, I said it’s all worth it,” Taylor said.

The original plan was to incorporate a stage into the event to showcase area gospel artists. But difficulty finding a location didn’t allow time to coordinate that aspect of the event, Taylor said.

Many who visited the carnival on Tuesday brought their children. On Monday when the temperature was in the 70s, even more came out, organizers said.

“We’ve seen a lot of families,” said Marion Mann, of Aberdeen, who worked the ticket booth for the church along with Kandace Strain, also of Aberdeen and Thomas Eades, of Edgewood. “It’s been a positive environment for people and their children.”