We went to North Mankato Fun Days this past weekend and had a bunch of fun with our daughter. This was the first "carnival" that she has been too and she really enjoyed it. I grew up in Mankato and I remember frequenting the Fun Days Carnival many times.
For the very little kids, they have a merry-go-round, a train, and cars/boats/motorcycles that go around in a circle. These were the only things I was comfortable letting our 1 1/2 year old do this year.
For the slightly bigger kids, there is also a kiddie roller coaster, a big slide, and a bouncy obstacle course.
For the older kids (and adults) - there is a ferris wheel and a variety of other rides - like the starship, zipper, spinning dragons, etc.
There is also a "midway" with games, prizes, and food. It is all the typical games - like tossing balls, picking ducks, etc. The food is also typical carnival food like mini donuts, hot dogs, cotton candy, etc.
Then for the adults, there is a beer garden with nightly bands (usually pretty good ones from what I remember - but it has been several years since I went to that part). There is also a bingo tent and another tent that I think they called the wine tent - but I am not sure what that was about.
The prices are all very reasonable (as far as carnivals go). There is no entry fee except to get in the beer garden.
For Fun Days there is also a parade - it has a few bands, floats, candy tossers, tractors, etc. It lasted about 1 1/2 hours or maybe a little less. Our daughter came away with a bag of candy and we left with a couple can coozies, some coupons, and a beach ball.
If you live in the Mankato, MN area - I recommend that you check it out. It is usually the weekend after the 4th of July weekend.
Here is the http://northmankato.com/fundays.php.
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