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From stoop-ball games to ice-cream cones, summer in NYC brings out the kid in all of us, and nowhere is that more apparent than at a summer carnival, those overwhelm-the-senses bacchanals of amusement rides, ring-toss games and funnel cake. And this June, one of New York's favorite carnivals, the annual Astoria Park Carnival, returns to the titular Queens neighborhood.
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Taking place at the corner of Hoyt Avenue North and 19th Street under the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, the carnival will run for five days, from Wednesday, June 7 through Sunday, June 11. Thrill seekers can get their adrenaline fix with heart-pumping rides from Dreamland Amusements, each of which are LED-enhanced and change between 250 different colors throughout your ride. If you'd rather have your carnival fun with your feet firmly planted on the ground, you can eschew the high-flying amusements for tamer, more kid-friendly stuff like fun houses, bumpers cars, merry-go-rounds and a new-for-2023 monster trucks attraction.
Your usual array of balloon-popping, basketball-throwing carnival games will be accounted for, as will classic fair foods (think chicken tenders, cheesesteaks, cotton candy and all manners of fried treats), which you can enjoy at picnic areas throughout the park.
Single tickets will set you back $1.50 or opt for a ticket book: 20 tickets for $40 and 50 tickets for $60, the latter of which saves you 15 bucks and includes one free ride. (Rides cost two or more tickets each.) Tickets are sold until one hour prior to closing, and hours of operation are 4pm through 11pm on weekdays and Sunday, and 4pm until midnight on Saturday.
Other upcoming summer carnivals in the New York area include the Citi Field Spring Carnival, which runs this weekend through May 14, as well as Long Island-set amusement parks at the Merrick Train Station (May 25 to May 29), the Herricks Community Center (June 1 to June 4) and the big Empire State Fair (June 30 to July 16).