New location soothes mall carnival complaints

No complaints so far.

After dozens of residents voiced concerns about the noise and smells that came from an annual carnival hosted at the Dartmouth Mall last year, some attended the Select Board’s Monday, April 8 meeting to hear this year’s carnival plan but none spoke. 

The Select Board unanimously approved the carnival pending the completion of the final security details.

The primary complaint last year had to do with the location of the carnival, which was moved from its previous location in front of what is now Aldi near Route 6 to the rear of the property, behind Macy’s and AMC. 

This new location brought the carnival’s festivities to only a tree line away from residential neighborhoods, including Seabury Street, which raised concerns about noise, rattled homes and gas generator fumes.

At a May 2023 meeting, Select Board members agreed neighbors should be notified in advance about events held at the Dartmouth Mall, some adding that if the proposal showed up in the same location they would deny it.

This year, the carnival, operated by Fiesta Shows, will be located between Taco Bell and Buffalo Wild Wings, which is where it stood approximately seven years ago, according to John Flynn, vice president of Dean & Flynn, representing Fiesta Shows.

This is the “six or seventh” Fiesta Shows carnival held at the Dartmouth Mall, according to Flynn. 

This year’s carnival will run from Thursday, May 2 to Sunday, May 12. On Thursdays and Fridays, it will operate from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on weekends from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. The carnival will be closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

With no one from the public opting to speak on the carnival, Select Board Chair Shawn McDonald said, “I'm assuming because of the location, it's a lot more palatable for the people living in Seabury, right? So I'm going to close this here.”