The rides, game booths and food vendors opened for business at 6 p.m. Friday, the third day of the 2013 North Catasauqua Small Town USA Carnival.

By 7:30, all is calm at the North Catasauqua Betterment Committee booth, where committee members are selling raffle tickets, North Catasauqua T-shirts and borough memorabilia.

"Damage control for the day is done by now," says betterment committee chair Joseph Keglovits. During the last hour he has reassigned jobs to cover for a volunteer who couldn't show up, suited up a high school student to play Tip the Crayon and repaired a little girl's ride wristband with duct tape.

The betterment committee which sponsors the fundraising event at the borough park has only eight members.

"We used to try to do all the work ourselves, but now we take a supervisory role and rely on volunteers," Keglovits says.

A clipboard list he is holding shows a list of 66 volunteers who have signed up to help with the four-day event. They man the ticket booth, sell raffle tickets, work in the betterment committee booth, escort Tip and hand out balloons to children, among other things, working in two-hour shifts.

A lively band, Shake, Rattle and Soul, entertains a crowd of patrons seated in the pavilion and on nearby benches while young children sit in a booth nearby to have their faces painted with colorful designs.

"A couple from out of town said they like coming up here because of the carnival and all the concerts we have at the park," Keglovits says.

"They drive 30 miles." The carnival attracts many people from outside the borough.

When Tip the Crayon comes to the booth with a collapsing costume, Keglovits chuckles.

"Meltdown!" he says as he leads Tip into a closed tent to fix the problem.

The betterment committee, formed to raise money for the benefit of the North Catasauqua community, has become expert at managing the annual carnival, now in its sixth year.

"Every year we try something new, to keep it fresh," Keglovits says. "We find that people come to carnivals looking for new and exciting things to eat that they can't get at home."

This year's new addition to the food court is a chicken kabob vendor. There was also a new band on Thursday.

Proceeds from betterment committee fundraisers have been donated to the borough for the installation of new street-side snowflake lights for last year's holiday season. In previous years, they have provided funding for such items and projects as laptop computers for the borough police cruisers, a new children's playground train and installation of railings along a newly installed sidewalk area at the park. Last year's carnival netted about $5,000.

In the carnival midway area, rides and game booths attract children and adults of all ages. Parents ride with little ones on the big Ferris wheel and take photos of tots circling by on a duck ride.

On a park field where children will spend summer afternoons playing Wiffle ball, teenagers now throw darts at pegboards covered with balloons and brothers and sisters take a spin on the Sizzler ride that whips them around a track.

Another attraction is on the menu at the park's refreshment stand. It's John Yanek's haluski, a favorite of local residents. The borough recreation committee member makes about 130 quarts of the cabbage-and-noodles dish every year.

"My entire house smells like cabbage," he says. "And I smell like cabbage."

During the evening before each of the four carnival days, Yanek cooks up two large roasters full, enough for the next day's refreshment stand sales.

The unique thing about Yanek's haluski is that he makes it with onions abnd bacon. And only during the carnival. This is the reason so many residents make it a point to stop at the snack stand every year during the carnival.

Six or seven recreation committee volunteers are at work at the snack stand Friday, as a steady stream of customers order their favorite treats.

Most of the snack items on sale are offered all summer long at the park, where recreation committee volunteers keep it open weekday evenings during warm weather.

Burgers are $2.50, soft pretzels go for $1 and turkey barbecue is $2.25. Candy, ice cream, sodas and sno cones are also on the menu.

"I love making sno cones," says rec committee member Cherie Gebhardt, as she pours a scoop of ice cubes into the ice crusher and gives it a whirl. "In the summer, I'd rather be working with ice than with hot food."

Barb Sukanick takes a customer's order and calls out, "Hot dog and a black cherry!"

At the hot dog grill, Diane Galm-Russoli places a dog on a bun while Bill Molchany Jr. removes a soda from the refrigerator at the back of the stand and hands it forward.

"Grape Gatorade and a cabbage and noodle," Gebhart calls out, and then fills an order of sno cones for three little girls who have finally made up their minds which flavors they want – two blue raspberry and one root beer.

The two emergency medical technicians on duty at the carnival come to the side door where they are treated to a free meal by the rec committee.

While everyone is busy working, it is clear they all enjoy their time in the snack stand.

After a couple of hours, Jason Bashaw sorts through the trays and crates of bottled and canned drinks stored under countertops and helps Molchany restock the refrigerators.

"Our committee consists of 10 members," Gebhart says. "Along with that comes their spouses and age-appropriate children."

Over the course of four days, 20-30 people volunteer their time and energy.

"It's organized chaos, but it's the only group I've worked with that we all get along," Galm-Russoli says.

In North Catasauqua, it seems the volunteers who make the carnival happen for the community are having as much fun as the families who bring their children to the event.

That should make Keglovits and his committee very happy.

"We try to give it a hometown feeling," he says.