PHOTOS: Lions Club Carnival Opens Early for Special Needs Students

The opened early Thursday, July 5 so that local special needs students could enjoy a special afternoon on the roller coasters, carousel and bumper cars.

For the past half-century, the Lexington Lions Club has hosted an annual Fourth of July Carnival in town. And for one day in each of those years, the club has extended a special invitation to children from the Perkins School of the Blind, the LABBB Collaborative and the Cotting School.

For the few hours each year when the carnival opens early there’s no waiting in line, no rushing to rides or running down aisles. There’s no pushing, no shoving, no judging. It’s just a little bit of good, old-fashioned fun, this few hours of free rides and hamburgers and hot dogs on the house.

"This has been pretty much a tradition from the get-go," said Stacy Sheehan, the club's president. "A lot of the kids have handicaps that make it difficult for them to maneuver around large crowds, so it's a way for them to really enjoy the carnival."

This year, almost 300 students and aids enjoyed the VIP treatment at the Lions Club Carnival on this special afternoon.

In addition to the Lions Club’s charity, crew members from Fiesta Shows, the carnival company, donate their time to run the rides and oversee the operation. And that’s something Lions Club members never fail to mention when asked about this feel-good story.