State police Sgt. Pat Lawrence piloted the helicopter featured in the carnival.

“I want to give the community a chance to see the equipment we use in the helicopter and how it works,” Lawrence said, as anxious children crowded around the door of the cabin.

The East Lansing Police Department and the East Lansing Kiwanis Club co-sponsored the carnival as an alliance of the police department’s National Night Out for crime prevention and the club’s safety carnival held in the past.

The carnival was a collaborative effort from businesses and facilities in the East Lansing area to bring the community together and cultivate safety awareness.

“This event gives the community a chance to see all of the resources the city has to offer,” said East Lansing police Officer Stephanie Gonzalez. “We are putting the information in the hands of those who need it.”

Gonzalez said the event targeted people of all ages, with a dunk tank and car seat inspections, as well as free food.

Rebecca Knieling, child services coordinator at the Hope Network Rehabilitative Services, 2775 E. Lansing Drive, promoted safe driving and computer and sports safety at her booth. The center assists patients with traumatic brain injuries.

“This carnival is beneficial to the community because (people) are unaware of the services available to them,” Knieling said.

Gonzalez said that the carnival may not directly avert crime in the city, but she hoped neighbors would get acquainted so they could look out for each other.

“It takes more than a police officer to stop crime,” she said. “It takes an entire community.”