THE annual Marburg Christmas Carnival at the Marburg Showgrounds on Saturday was judged a great success.
The carnival was hosted by the Marburg Show Society and there were free rides, interactive displays, face painting, market stalls and activities for the children.
A popular tradition for around six decades is the Marburg ham wheel, and on Saturday, it was long time resident and founding member of the event, Merve Steinhardt, who took the first spin.
Merve said he started attending the Marburg carnival as a young lad with his family and his father Ernest Fredrick Steinhardt and now he carries on the family tradition with his wife Eileen, his children and his extended family.
“The ham wheel started as a way to give back to the families in the Marburg and surrounding areas, and it has always been a very popular and fun activity,” he said.
“Each year I look forward to attending the Christmas Carnival to catch up with the locals, and to have an outing with the family, who are all now heavily involved with the organisation of the event.
“The carnival originally started many years ago, to give local farmers and their families something to look forward to off the farm, as in those days farm life kept families very busy and many children did not have many outings.
“I think it is great to see the carnival still going strong after all of these years, because like many other people who attend each year, I have a lot of great memories made at this event.”
Festivities concluded with a special visit from Santa, who handed out gifts to the children bringing Christmas cheer to Marburg.
