WAXHAW - Town officials got dunked in cold water, children walked around dressed as their favorite movie and book characters like it was Halloween and a band played upbeat music on a center stage.

There were plenty of random happenings at Waxhaw’s street carnival Saturday at the old Waxhaw Fire Department but they were all united under one cause: to support their town library.

The recently created Library Association of Waxhaw organized the carnival to raise awareness about the group’s goals, which is ultimately to expand the library and provide additional services to residents.

Mayor Daune Gardner praised the group’s leaders for taking ownership of their town.

“It’s great to see a grassroots effort with people saying, ‘If the county can’t handle it, let’s do it for ourselves,’” she said.

Erin Kirkpatrick, the association’s president, said they plan on opening a used bookstore and using profits from that to pay for a library expansion. The Waxhaw library is the second most trafficked in the county but also the smallest.

“It was never a question of need, it was a question of when,” she said.

Some of Saturday’s activities, such as the auction and dunking booth, were set up to raise money for that goal. But mostly, Kirkpatrick said, the carnival was about building connections between residents.

“We really wanted to focus on goodwill and bringing the community together today,” she said.

Several visitors said they decided to attend the festival not only because it provided their children with a fun activity for the afternoon, but also because it supported a good cause.

“I love the library,” said Waxhaw resident Jeanette Balazs, while helping her daughter Noelle, 3, make a bookmark at a crafts booth, “It’s been great here today. It’s simple but sweet. It fits right in with the community.”

Carol Pinsak, co-president of the Friends of the Union County Public Library, predicted Saturday’s festival would be the first of many great things the association does.

“They certainly have a lot of energy in that group. They really do,” she said. “It’s really wonderful to see that kind of dedication.”