The 27th annual Burlington Carousel Festival took place this weekend, and with a new twist. The Kernodle Center for Service Learning & Community Engagement of Elon University partnered with the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department to get Elon students involved.
"It shows that the Elon community is part of the downtown Burlington community," said Elon Volunteers! coordinator, Christian Gilbert. "We are trying to increase the number of things that we are a part of."
The crowd over the weekend was one of the best in recent years, largely due to the new additions.
"I think we have had a tremendous turnout," said festival co-coordinator, Brandy Mccandliss. "With the addition of the food trucks, we have healthy options and we have sweet options, we have fudge. With all of the different artists, the crowd is really coming out and shopping."
Yet there was no mistaking what the main attraction of the festival was with its long lines winding around the park.
"Our carousel is a historic living museum," said festival co-coordinator, Mary Faucette. "It is over 100 years old, so it's a very unique opportunity for kids to come and ride."
Though the carousel was undoubtedly the biggest hit, many other activities had people sticking around for many hours.
"It has grown," Faucette said. "The carousel is obviously the center part of why we have the festival but it's about being local. Spot lighting our local and regional musicians our artists, our food vendors and continuing to grow that."
The Festival will return next year with an anticipated fair share of changes.
"Carrying on tradition is a big part of the carousel festival," Mccandliss said. "But we continue to add on and we listen to the community and bring that into the festival"