Over 10,000 people attended Dr. Rich Roberts’ Pesach carnival, which he said was a smashing success.
Dr. Roberts gave TLS the following detailed report of the event.
The carnival was successful beyond any expectation.
“Pesach usually has about 2/3 the attendance of Succos. Today, the attendees were close to the largest number that we have ever had and that includes the last two hours being sparsely attended due to the weather. The number of children who attended was about 9000 which, with the adults, extrapolates to about 12,000 to 13,000 attendees.
The LPD’s idea of using satellite parking lots in Pine Park resulted in a major reduction in the traffic jams and a much better flow of people. The shuttle busses, for the remote parking lots, worked very well. At the peak we could have used another two busses but that was only for about an hour of the carnival. The traffic control members of the LPD did a great job and the strong police presence made everyone feel at ease.
There was some rain around 3:30 PM which caused many people to leave the carnival. For those who stayed, or arrived after that, there were almost no lines for the cotton candy, nosh, and prizes and they were able to get closer to the performing areas. I had to make a decision, on Monday, about moving the carnival to Wednesday due to the weather forecast. Although the forecasted chance of rain dropped from Tuesday to Wednesday from about 60% to 35%, the temperatures also dropped from about 67 degrees to about 45 degrees. Since the cold temperatures are uncomfortable for the attendees, staff, and performers, I decided to keep the carnival for Tuesday. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes but the temperatures dropped after it rained.
The shows were very well received. The format of three shows meant that there was very little down time between shows, many more people were able to be entertained than when we had fewer shows, and it relieved the lines at the rides and food.
There was one show in which the performer was a frye yid and he geared many of his jokes to the topic of Pesach. I cringed at some of the jokes that he made about Pesach and Torah subjects and I would like to apologize to the kehila for the content of those jokes. We screen all of the acts for the music, text, and sneas based upon past performances that we can check online and we screen the music that they intend to play during their acts. I had no idea that he would try to make jokes about subjects that are Kodesh. Again, I would like to apologize to the kehila.
In conclusion, the Pesach carnival was a smashing success.”
[TLS]
Thank you Dr. Roberts for your unprecedented originality of chessed. You are certainly melayim the Rambam’s description of simchas yom tov, which is only fulfilled upon providing the less fortunate with simchas y”t.
For those who have attended, I ask you, did Dr. Robert’s glowing face not exhibit that he was m’kayim simchas yom tov b’tachlis??
I admire your olam haboh!
Dr. Roberts,
Thank you so much for your most generous Chessed! The children of Lakewood LOVE your carnival and are so excited each year at the fun you provide for them! For us partents, it is a huge relief when we can take our children on a trip that they are so happy with, at no cost! Your graciousness is truly above and beyond! FYI, on our Chol Hamoed trip today, we say quite a few children walking around with the prize you gave them yesterday! THANK YOU!!
Thank you Dr, Roberts .Enjoyed by one and all!!
Thank you Dr. Roberts. A true. Kiddush Hashem. You make an event for all to enjoy, no matter what type of person, job, etc. Hashem should continue to shower you with birchas kol tuv.
Thank you Dr. Roberts. Your efforts are not taken for granted!
Thank you once again Dr. Roberts, for the great time my family had at your carnival. Yaasher Koach!
Munchies likes Dr. Roberts. Let’s be honest with ourselves, is there another “celebrity-philanthropist” in the world that conducts such events with such enthusiasm? To top it all off, his apology shows what a mensch he really is.
Wow!!! It truly was an amazing organized event!! The lines for rides were long but really went fast. It was so nice to see that every one waited patiently for their turn.. no cutting. The shows were entertaining too! Thank you Dr. Roberts!!!!
This Chol Hamoed was in my family’s estimation, the most enjoyable carnival to date. The main reaon was the quality of the performances as well as the short wait time in between the different performances. The ventriloquist was amazing! His sprinkling in some Yiddish and Yom Tov references was just icing on the cake. My boys also greatly enjoyed that guy on the really tall bike.
Thanks Dr. Roberts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much, Dr. Roberts! We really appreciate your amazing generosity and warm heart. My kids really enjoyed and I’m touched by your forethought of all the details and just the huge chesed that the carnival is, even though I’ve seen it many times. May Hashem grant you much continued hatzlacha!!