By Carol Vaughn —
The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company announced Pony Penning week activities and the carnival will be held this year, after two years of a virtual only pony auction and no carnival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pony Penning week will be business as usual with the beach walk, the swim, and the auction,” according to an announcement on the fire company’s Facebook page.
The pony auction will be live and in person, but the fire company anticipates also having it coincide with online bidding, which proved popular during the pandemic.
Two fireworks shows are planned, one on July 4 and one on the final night of the carnival, July 30.
“We ask you to be patient. Not being open for two years means we have to get back “in the saddle”, no pun intended. There will be new members and new volunteers learning the ropes,” at the carnival, the Facebook post said.
The carnival opens July 1 at 6:30 p.m. with an opening ceremony, and continues July 2 and July 4, opening at 7 p.m. July 4 fireworks will be at 10 p.m.
The carnival will again be open July 22 at 7 p.m., July 23 at 7 p.m., and July 25-30, at 7 p.m.
The beach walk for the ponies will be July 25 starting at 6 a.m.
The Pony Swim will be July 27, with the time to be announced later.
The pony auction begins at 8 a.m. July 28 at the corral at the back of the carnival grounds.
The ponies’ swim back to Assateague will be July 29, with the time to be announced later.
“We cannot hardly wait to see everyone, welcome everyone back, see the laughter and smiles on the kid’s faces and see everyone meet up with their old friends for the Chincoteague Homecoming Week, smell the fritters frying, tasting those good pony fries, seeing the whirl of the ferris wheel and just enjoying some good old-fashioned, down-home Chincoteague fun,” the post said.
