Small town fun or big time heist?

Editor:

Help, I’ve been robbed! That’s what I wanted to say as I walked past a policeman as I was leaving the Maple Festival in Chardon.

Robbed not by one person, but by many. Four dollars for a Styrofoam cup filled with colored ice, $3 for a large hot pretzel (which is not so large), $5 for one bag of cotton candy, $6 for a jumbo cup of French fries (I can buy 30 pounds of potatoes for that price), $3 for a hot dog on a stick.

Not to mention $3 to $5 to go on ONE ride. I have four children old enough to ride the rides, which means it costs $12 to $20 for ONE ride!

Since we’re doing the math, let’s say the ride is $3, they can fit 16 kids on a ride at one time and the ride is three minutes long (I’m being generous) that equals $48 in 3 minutes which ends up being $960 an hour. (and that’s only one ride).

I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t make that kind of money. I’m not saying that they do not have the right to make a profit, but they DO NOT have the right to price gouge and take advantage of people.

I am self-employed and understand that you must charge enough to meet your expenses and make a profit but, you must also be fair and reasonable for the price you are charging for your product or service.

Five dollars for child to climb a rock wall (around 5 minutes) is ridiculous. Three dollars for a small child to walk up a ladder, across a bridge and slide down a slide (which takes 1-2 minutes) is overcharging.

Nobody likes the way it makes you feel when you are being taken advantage of. As I walked around, I heard more than a few times how expensive everything was, which takes a lot of fun out of day that is all about having fun.

I think it is such a shame that people like myself who have large families are continuously saying to their children “honey, that’s too expensive”, “No, sorry we don’t have any more tickets”, “I’m not paying $15 for five pretzels.”

I am not poor, I just think it’s absurd to pay that kind of money to someone who is knowingly and willingly taking advantage of me.

I think it is such a shame that a town festival that I used to enjoy going to when I was younger has turned into a big business and is now too expensive for a family to attend.

I would commend (and patronize) the vendor who would lower their price and focus on family fun, instead of pure profit.

I would like to add – the people who put up a booth (and the people who let them) with a picture of Bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein on a bull’s eye and the words “Kill Me” on them, charging a $1 a shot should be ashamed of themselves.

Teaching children to shoot at people and “kill them” is absolutely, positively wrong. What were you thinking? Hate teaches hate!

Carol Yehl

Chardon, Ohio