Crestwood Festival
South Oldham Lions Club
moves festival to new location
Event to feature amusement
rides at school campus
CRESTWOOD, Ky. (September 2013) – When most people think of the fair or a festival, they naturally think of amusement rides. It’s the one thing all kids enjoy that guarantees a good time.
DerbyCity Amusements is a local company formed in 2005 by Louisville, Ky., resident Michael House. He entered the amusement business in 1987, gaining valuable experience to one day start his own company.
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Photo provided The Crestwood Festival |
House began small by setting up at Catholic Picnics and church fairs. The business took off and became one of the fastest growing amusement companies around for providing entertainment for county fairs and large festivals.
Tammy House has joined her husband in the family business, which now owns nearly 20 rides. “We provide rides, Midway Games and concessions,” she said.
The company primarily sets up at Louisville venues and in surrounding counties. Not a lot of space is always needed, “it depends upon what the client wants,” said House.
The Houses’ are passionate about their industry and very dedicated to their job. They have added new rides for the 2013 season and are expanding into the food vending market.
They count safety as their number one priority as attested to in the fact that there has never been a single safety violation in any of their rides. They will have rides, games and food set up at the Crestwood Festival from 5-11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, and from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21, at South Oldham School Campus on Hwy. 146.
This festival is organized by the South Oldham Lions Club. A member had seen Derby City Amusements set up at a previous event and wanted them to come to the Crestwood Festival, said festival organizer and South Oldham Lions Club member Koz Kinser.
This year, Kinser said he wants to “attract a different crowd,” in addition to the crowd that normally attends the festival. By having more of a carnival atmosphere and carnival-type food, such as cotton candy, elephant ears, Kinser said he hopes to “attract upper teens, people in their lower 20s.”
This will be the fifth year for the South Oldham Lions Club’s Crestwood Festival. One major change in this year’s festival is the location – from The Maples property to the South Oldham School Campus.
“We want to be more visible than in the past,” said Kinser. “People like that it is a community event, and our goal is to get people together.”
The festival has been a favorite fall event for the community since it began. Previous locations include the North Oldham Lions Club property in Goshen and the Oldham County Fairgrounds.
The festival will also have additional family entertainment, music, children’s activities, local exhibitors, business vendors, face painting artists and crafters, historical and military encampments and displays, Antique Iron Club display, a 50-50 raffle, a salute to Armed Services members and lots of food and drinks. Children’s activities will include both free and paid activities.
Two types of raffle tickets will be sold – a $10 per chance ticket with a 50-50 payout, with a minimum of $1,000 giveaway, and a possible giveaway of $5,000 if all 1,000 tickets are sold. Also, a $1 chance will be sold on items and services donated by Oldham County businesses.
On Saturday, the festival will kick off with a pancake breakfast. Ample onsite parking is $5 a car load. There will be something for all ages to enjoy. Sponsors at this time include The Oldham Era and Baptist Health.
The Crestwood Festival is a “money maker for different projects in our community,” Kinser said. The South Oldham Lions Club and the Lions Club in general are well-known for the efforts to improve the eyesight of Kentuckians through the Lions Eye Foundation and KidSight, as well as sponsoring other charitable projects such as School AED Program, Dollars For Scholars and Vision Van.
Locally, Kinser said the club has provided eye screenings for pre-school age children by going to all of the preschools in the county. In the past school year, more than 750 children were screened. Kinser said 58 children needed further evaluation with one or two being on the borderline.
If they had not been tested, they would probably have suffered a lifetime of eyesight problems, he said. These are the kind of good deeds the Lions Club likes to see accomplished.