Dr. Rich Roberts gives a recap on the highly-successful Chol Hamoed carnival, which drew over 20,000 people, making it the largest carnival in the carnival’s history.
Dr. Roberts is also asking the community to provide feedback on what they felt was successful or what they feel may need improvement.
Dr. Roberts we loved the carnival. May I just suggest that the next carnival you bring along your awesome fish tank :).
Thanks again and may Hashem bentch you and your family with an endless amount of bracha and hatzlacha!
I tried to bring my fish tank but it weighs about 12,000 pounds. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I was barely able to carry it to my car. Then it wouldn’t fit in the trunk.
Signed,
Broken Back
Amazing carnival as always. The police were so nice and gave a lot of kids police stickers. Mordy Holder was a huge help and spent time explaining the machines and trucks to the kids.
Thank you for your input.
Thank you so much for the tremendous chessed.
I just want to address the question of the projection: I personally used it for one show, though I didn’t notice too many others using it. I used the projection when I got seating near the back of the last dog show, and a crowd formed in front of me, standing and blocking my view. (This was not the case for most of the shows, as the ushers did a fantastic job, but it happened at that show.) Unable to get a direct view to the front, I looked up and watched the show on the projection.
Again, don’t know the experience of others, but that was my experience. Overall, however, a fantastic trip, and the kids enjoyed it immensely.
Kol Hakavod!
Thank you for your comment. It’s very helpful.
We enjoyed the carnival very much!
Thank you for all the work that goes into it.
One point I noticed was that we were in the very back for the trampoline show and couldn’t see a thing. We ended up leaving it because the kids got frustrated they couldn’t see. Maybe bleachers are an option?
Thanks again !
Shows should have capacity. We went early to get seats and people kept piling in causing all the children to be unable to see anything. We ended up leaving because the kids were getting frustrated.
We are going to increase the number of ushers to address this issue. I forgot to mention it in the video.
The issue is parents standing and putting kids on their shoulders. Those in the back really couldn’t see
Yes. The ushers are supposed to address this. Thanks
I used the projector and I was thankful it was there as I couldn’t see most of the show from my seat. One comment I have is for the trampoline show, it was very crowded and with most people standing, we couldn’t see anything.
Thank you for providing a free chol hamoed extravaganza for my children they enjoyed and we are so appreciative!!
For the outdoor shows, where the action is elevated in the air (trampolines, motorcycles jumping, etc.), we assume that people can see by looking upwards. However, there should be a children-only several foot initial perimeter. I’ll check if this is still being done.
DR ROBERTS
THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO !!!!
Thank you. We just try to be helpful.
My kids sat in the back in the last row, they were able to see perfectly and didn’t need the projector. Thanks for a great time
Thank you. Your comment helps.
My kids look forward to the carnival every single year!! Hashem should continue to bentch Dr. Roberts!
Amen. V’chein Lemar.
Huge thank you to Rabbi Roberts for such an amazing carnival. My kids all had the greatest time . We went from show to show – everything ran so smooth and on schedule . The amount of work you and your team put into every aspect of this event is unreal. Thank you to the Police/Fire dep for all your work in keeping the masses safe. We truly appreciate all you do.
Thank you. We try.
My highlight was seeing Dr. Robert’s mother!
Thank you. My mother is 95 years old. She moved to the Courtyard about two weeks before Pesach. This was a highlight of her life. Everyone were so kind to her. I deeply appreciate it.
I was all the way in the back, on the far right side, for the dog show.
I did not use the projectors. I might have used them if there was a projector was on my side. The projector was on the left and not very visible from where I was sitting.
There was a speaker near the stage that was blocking me from seeing part of the show. Perhaps, they can be better positioned next time.
My kids loved the shows!! My 5 y/o was talking about it all day. He thought the owner of the trampoline show was hysterical and loved gizmo the dog!!
They had a great time.
Thank you!
Your comment is helpful. So maybe we need the projection on both sides of the event.
Thank you it was very nice! I think a big game changer would be renting bleachers for the shows and making the petting zoo tent extra large because that’s where everyone wants to get to the front by the animals… thanks!
Bleachers are extremely expensive to rent and we are concerned about the possibility of someone falling. They would be ideal but we can’t use them. Thank you for your suggestion, though.
Thank you Dr. Roberts!
To keep the petting zoo moving and more comfortable, I’d suggest having all 4 sides of each pen (or at least 3 if the staff needs access from one) accessible to the attendees so more people can see up close at one time. Also there should be a clearly marked entrance and exit with directional arrows along the way so it flows in one direction without having people walking into each other.
Bleachers would be great by all shows indoor and outdoor, but that comes with significant safety risk.
Thank you again.
You are correct about bleachers. See my reply above this one.
Your suggestions are good ones. The animal attractions change but, when we have a zoo like that, there should be more access and signage for flow. We are working on snakes for the next carnival. We don’t know yet if it will happen, though.
Thank you so much for such a great day! It was definitely our best day of Chol Hamoed. May I suggest seating at random throughout the area? Perhaps picnic benches that parents can use when there are older children to run around or just for in between shows?
That’s a good suggestion but we need to think about facilities and attractions that can service thousands at one time. It would be too much additional work and space to provide outdoor chairs and tables for a thousand people.
Fantastic job all around! A perfect low-stress way to enjoy the family time on C”HM. Only suggestion would be to somehow offer drinks. It can sometimes get a little hot in the sun, and with the snacks it would be nice to have a bottle of water, especially for the adults. Also would be helpful to put together all the prizes and snacks into a bag to make it easier for the kids to carry along and for the packaging so the kids don’t make a mess after they’re done and would make it easier to get all of them given out at once. Tizku L’Mitzvos for your chessed in putting this together.
Thank you for your helpful suggestions.
We have a water station. We intend to put a tall flag on it and show it in the new maps.
The bags are a good idea. We have used them previously. I’ll ask why we stopped.
Amazing chessed. All the shows are incredible and so entertaining. The kids loved it and so did the adults. Thanks for providing us with a close and easy chol hamoed trip.
Thank you, Dr. Roberts and Camp B’lev Echad. My younger children enjoyed it immensely and were enamored with all your attractions, especially the animals. When the older children and I came it was already over and the disappointment was palpable. We hope to all enjoy the sukkos event in Yerushalaim. We have enjoyed your events these last 17-18 years. We were unable to afford any other local attractions and my kids finally felt that they went to something real.
Thank you. That’s our objective. I’m glad that we’re helping choshovah families like yours.
If i can add in, im sure it was just a oversight. Ocean county sheriff Mastronardy and his team work very hard every year for this event. Many officers there to protect and interact with the community. The mounted unit. Their equipmemt including the eye in the sky. The child id unit which from looking at the crowd is very popular. And the fact that the sheriff himself attends is amazing. Kudos to ocean county sheriff and all of his team. Besides these events they do so much for our community
Maybe the shows should be Livestreamed online. The storyteller can even be a simple phone hook up. So many people go to the carnival, that many people who don’t for whatever reason, feel their missing out.
That’s a very interesting idea. No one suggested it before you. We’ll take it under consideration. Btw, I like that you knew to make that word correction.
*they’re
The writing boards from last sukkos were so nice!! My kids still use them all the time. Thank you!!!!
A question that the team discussed was if people still have their writing pads so maybe they don’t need or want another one. What’s your response to that for your family and, if you know, other families?
if you’re taking a poll, we still have the writing pads so probably don’t need more, don’t know about other families. It was a terrific prize that the kids have enjoyed, thank you!
This was the first time I attended your event-I accompanied my daughter-in-law and grandchildren, as my son had to work that day. I was very impressed-even more than I thought. The kids had a really great time. The show most enjoyed by us all-kids and adults was the Amazing Science Show by Yochanan Ghoori. The stuff he did was fascinating and he brought it down to the kids’ level. Even 3 y.o. grandson enjoyed!!
Thanks again for this huge chesed!!
Your comment is helpful. We keep a spreadsheet on the quality of every show for when we contemplate bringing them back. The science show was received very positively.
Many many thanks to Dr Roberts ! This is a huge chessed
The chessed doer and chased are extremely unique!
I was so impressed to see that there was a booth for children that were separated from their parents
The young ladies working the booth were so sweet and nice!the kids calmed down instantly!!
This is not just an amazing carnival it is also a safe place to take our families!
My kids were fascinated by all the shows and petting zoo is all of our favorites!
I wish we had a chance to meet Mrs Roberts!
may the Eibishter bentch Dr Roberts with all the best that life has to offer
And may klal yesroel enjoy each others company at these beautiful carnivals in eretz yesroel with moshiach very very soon!
Amen.
I took a screenshot of your comment and sent it by text messaging (he doesn’t have a smart phone) to the father of one of the girls who worked at the Lost Children tent. He told me that she was thrilled by your comment. Thanks
Why am I seeing so many peacocks in this video? in the past I saw more a variety of yellow labs and blue cichlids, etc… in the past
I haven’t had any yellow labs for probably over ten years. I have added many hybrid peacocks and haps because of the beautiful color combinations and patters. I agree with you, though, that I need more solidly blue fish. I get the iridescent blue heads on Neons and Red Empresses but I could use some more totally or mostly blue fish such as Ahi’s, Cobue, Ngara, or Red Dragon hybrids.
I just want to echo many of the other comments above. The shows were so entertaining and were enjoyed by both the kids AND many of the adults, and things ran so smoothly B’H. It’s a low-stress chol hamoed trip which is better than what we’d find if we traveled!
The signs with the show times were helpful, and a map as mentioned would be great as well – it can include the show times too.
One thought: we didn’t allow our kids to eat the cotton candy as we weren’t sure if the machines could potentially be chometz’dik – maybe the last time it was used someone was eating chometz and dropped some in a machine, or something like that. Maybe some other parents didn’t allow it for the same reason.
They did enjoy the chocolate and the snack bag!
Thank you for your feedback.
These machines are only used for cotton candy at our Chol Homoed events. We own the machines and leave them in storage between carnivals. Shaya Leifer, of Camp B’Lev Ecad, runs the carnivals. He follows the directions that he had received from Rabbi Gissinger ztl. We don’t use any coloring or flavoring in our cotton candy. It’s just sugar and paper.
thank you so much, for a wonderful, heralthy chol hamoed trip!! the kids loved it!
Thank you. We try to please.
Dr. Roberts,
Thank you for your carnival. Although I have been married and living in Lakewood for more than a decade, I have never attended any of your carnivals. I always felt that they were intended for those who could not afford to pay for their children’s amusement and i didn’t wan’t to be a freeloader. This year, I was extremely preoccupied with a business matter (davar ha’aved) and i just didn’t have the head to drive anywhere. We walked over to the carnival and my kids had a fantastic time. That said, I would love to contribute to this beautiful event. Could you please post a link for same?
Some people have a minhag to try not to ‘mish’ on Pesach. I heard a pshat in the minhag that since there are some people that you don’t want to eat from, but you don’t want to embarrass them, therefore you just don’t eat from anyone. I don’t think anyone seriously thought they might be serving chometz at the carnival.