NEW BERLIN – New Berlin’s 49th annual Youth Days celebration kicked off Thursday night with the Miss Youth Days Pageant and is heading into the event with a weather forecast far better than last year’s.

This past winter, the New Berlin Youth Days Committee held a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the New Berlin Fire Station to bridge a first ever gap in funding caused by poor attendance at last year’s gathering.

Last year’s Youth Days was held as a series of torrential rains passed over the area, reducing attendance on opening night to only 100 people – a far cry from the anticipated 1,500 visitors. The following day, the storms continued to deter patrons and delayed the parade by a half hour. Hundreds who turned out for the wet event sought shelter in nearby storefronts as the worst of the weather passed by.

“In all the years we can remember having the event, we can’t remember a single time we’ve had this problem before,” said committee member and New Berlin NBT Bank Branch Manager Brian Burton.

The problem, apart from the poor weather, was the lack of attendance and sales the event failed to generate, leaving planners with a $1,000 debt.

Committee Member Larry Lloyd explained that the organization has to pay between $8,000 and $9,000 to have the carnival rides at the event every year. The the three-day carnival generates about $2,500 to hand out to the different charities that participate.

Youth Days Committee President Larissa Hanslmaier said the committee had taken a number of steps this year to help prevent a repeat of last year.

“The weather made a huge difference last year and this year the weather is going be beautiful,” she said, as Friday morning’s weather forecast portends a warm, sunny 70 degree weekend.

To cover expenses, organizers will not offer the traditional free admission Friday, but instead, will reduce ticket costs throughout the whole event to 50 cents a ride for children and $1 for adults.

The event this year also moved the fireworks show to Friday in order to avoid a congestion of events taking place with Saturday night starting with the 6 p.m. parade. Something new to the celebration will take place Sunday, a Kid’s Fair, with hands-on activities and a free lunch to all children who participate