T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM — Josh Peters gets his face painted by Sue Kohler and Melynda McCord during Saturday’s Because We Care Carnival Fair at the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center. Organized by Unity in Our Community, the event raised money for the Marshalltown Community School District.

The cooler weather brought the Marshalltown community out and about on Saturday at the Because We Care Carnival Fair. It was a welcome respite from the 100 degree days earlier in the week.

Lydia Youngdahl said she had seen the event advertised throughout town and on Facebook.

“We follow Jesus, and it was so hot, we thought this was a cool thing to do,” she said. “We wanted to come out, support this and enjoy ourselves. It is awesome. One dollar for a ticket and you can do all this fun stuff. Our 1-year-old and 3-year-old both like it.”

Teddi Wagner, a janitor at Hoglan Elementary, also brought her family.

“I think this is amazing,” she said. “There is so much to choose from for just one ticket, which is very affordable.”

Held at the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center, the event was held to raise money for the Marshalltown Community School District through $1 ticket sales, and was hosted by Unity in Our Community.

Member Cindy Soderberg, one hour after the fair started, said the number of attendees was slow but steady.

“I have seen a lot of parents and grandparents with their children,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot of giggles walking around, especially at the inflatables, which is priceless. We have a lot of volunteers giving their time to be at the games, the inflatables and taking tickets.”

Silas Wagner, 4, of Marshalltown, finishes his slide on the huge bouncy house at the Because We Care Carnival Fair. Wagner could also play games, get his face painted and eat cuisine provided by food trucks and the Marshall County Pork Producers.

Two of the volunteers included Sue Kohler and Melynda McCord who spent time painting attendees’ faces.

“We belong to Journey Church, but our friends are running this,” McCord said.

She and Kohler were able to flex their creativity by winging designs painted on faces. Kohler said they had a few stencils to help them along, but primarily used them as a source of ideas.

Soderberg said Unity in Our Community will definitely hold the fair again next year.

Fellow member Lanette Martin said one lesson learned from this year will be taken into account for the next fair. Originally, she booked five food trucks — Appleberry Farm, Funky Pepperoni, Tacos La Cruz, Quick & Fresh Kitchen and Family Fun Concessions. However, the trucks from outside Marshalltown were unable to appear.

“There was frustration with the city food permit process,” she said.

Ron Klosterman and Harold Hennis prepare pork burgers during the Because We Care Carnival Fair on Saturday. Held at the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center, the event raised money to meet needs of the Marshalltown Community School District.

More wheels were turning on how to improve the future. Soderberg hopes to have the presence of the Marshalltown Fire Department and Police Department. Martin said she would like to bring in a water inflatable and hopes to have additional school district personnel volunteer for the dunk tank.

Even though the food choices were more limited than what was planned, Martin said she enjoyed being a part of something which had a dual purpose – raising money for a worthy cause and bringing God into the community.

“We want people to know that this would not have happened without God,” she said. “There were a lot of roadblocks that had to be kicked out of the way, such as the weather. He provided this day for us to give to the community.”

Soderberg wanted to acknowledge the help they received.

“We are grateful to the Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center for allowing us to host this today,” she said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.