"Every time we see one, we have to go," Lynel Visentin said as she watched her daughter ride the merry-go-round.

It's her favourite ride.

"She had to go on five times at the Virgil Stampede," her mom said, adding they have already been to three carnivals this summer.

Visentin said they drove by the Lions carnival while it was being set up and when Emily saw the carnival she knew she had to go.

"We went to Home Depot and she said, 'I go to carnival,' " Visentin said.

The Lions carnival was held at the Optimist Park June 27-July 1, for the holiday weekend. Gerard Boudreau, the upcoming president of the Lions Club in Niagara Falls, said most people don't know it, but their carnivals are fundraisers, too.

The carnivals have been held at the park for the last 20 years and raise about $30,000 for people in need.

Boudreau said the need can range from crutches and wheelchairs, to dentures or palliative care.

Gabriele Marinelli, a Lions Club member for 40 years, said it is getting harder and harder to put on the carnivals.

"We can't compete with all the big shows," Marinelli said, "We get lost in the shuffle even though we have been around for many years."

But it seems they are going to have to continue every year for those like Emily, who love going to the carnival.

"It's a little addiction," Lynel Visentin said. "I don't know what we're going to do once winter hits."