Wow! This place has been around a while, from a local news story "... just like every year since 1957, "the Kiddie Carnival" will be held at the Lions Club property in Athens (this month)..." tickets are 50 cents a ride for 10 rides ideally for children ages 2-10 years old.
My daughter's friend is the owner (?) and we were invited to a private party for the owner's children to hang out and enjoy our two grands. The train is cute. (The horn got was too loud for our almost-2 year old grandson and he did not enjoy that part of the train ride). The hosts provided Whitt's BBQ, birthday cupcakes, and bottled water so it looks like you can bring in food and drinks for a private event.
Three stars because this is a service-organization run park and the proceeds from the annual kiddie carnival go towards deserving high school students scholarships.
The article I read states there are 10 rides at the park. However, out of the 10, maybe 4 were functional (don't quote me). Still if you are 2-4 this is fun. The train worked great, the "scrambler" worked (but a poor little girl got stung by a hornet when riding it), and the "big swings" worked. Out of order were: the "little swings," "the cars", and "the carousel" - I think they had a roller coaster that did not appear to be working either. Maybe the rides were just not turned on or something, the day we went, because when I look through the google photos from past Kiddie Carnivals everything appears to be working.
Our toddler grandson still enjoyed sitting in the various cute little cars and his Dad and my husband (along with some other Dads) pushed the carousel for the grands. This was good enough for the little grands, and I'm grateful my husband works out, because it looked to be a lot of work, especially in the June heat. I pushed a couple of girls in the "little swings."
They have a decent sized (maybe seats 2 dozen + people) covered pavilion and a brick building that likely has a kitchen area and also houses the restrooms (I didn't go in there) - this is where they host bingo for the KC.
If you are in the area and have toddlers, want some cheap entertainment and a good workout for yourself as you will be pushing them on the nonfunctional rides, and want to support a good cause, the Athens Lion's Club Kiddie Carnival is for you. Free parking across the street and they have concessions, too. More details about the carnival are here https://whnt.com/news/athens-lions-club-welcomes-long-running-kiddie-carnival/ read more