Valeria Gil de Leyva
Staff Writer

Nothing screams Coppell, Texas like community events. The local Catholic church, St. Ann Catholic Parish, plays a huge role in hosting these events with the annual St. Ann’s Carinval.

For years, the carnival has kickstarted fall festivities in Coppell. More than 20,000 people attend the carnival over a period of three days.

Locals can always count on one weekend in September  to be filled with carnival rides, funnel cakes and lots of bonding over smiles and laughter. If you were to attend the Carnival this year, it would look nothing like it did when it first began in 1993.

Someone who has seen the carnival evolve is Mark Luenser, who has been working the carnival for 18 years.

“When we first started the carnival, we were on the grass,” Luenser said. “We only had a couple of stands. It was a small event.”

If you went to the carnival this year, or have been in the past few years, you can confidently say that the carnival is no longer a “small event.” The carnival is now on the main parking lot, taking over the entire area.

“Once we moved to the parking lot, we got real estate, more stands and more rides,”  Luenser said.

Every year you can expect something different from the St. Ann’s Carnival.

“We always get new rides, food vendors and sponsors,” Luenser said. “Every year it’s something different.”

While we can establish that the carnival will be a new experience every year, the only thing that has stayed the same are committee members.

“Some members have been part of the committee for 23 years,” Lunser said.

With the committee already planning next year’s carnival, Coppellian’s can not wait to see what is in store.