Traveling Carnival News,Pictures and Videos.

A headless lady, a moving mummy and a girl in a goldfish bowl are among the spectacles brought to life as part of a new exhibition charting Britain’s seaside sideshows.

By Alastair Jamieson – Telegraph.co.uk

The illusions, once a common feature of piers and promenades, have been recreated for the first time since falling out of fashion in the 1960s.

The eccentric performances will be shown alongside never-before-seen colour photographs of post-war British fairground entertainment and a waxwork model of ‘professional freak’ Horace Ridler whose extensive tattoos earned him a living as The Zebra Man.

The disquieting creations are part of Showzam, a 10-day festival of variety performances taking place in Blackpool next month.

The festival’s main attraction is the Circus of Wonders exhibition of sideshows and images curated by Professor Vanessa Toulmin, the niece of a professional contortionist who is now research director of the National Fairground Archive at Sheffield University.

“They were the popular entertainment of their age,” she explained. “Before everyone could afford cars or foreign holidays they were at the seaside and wanted to be entertained. This is part of our history.

“These were very tricky live performances yet cheap to watch – sometimes only a penny – so they were affordable and open to the whole family. There has been a return to live performances as people recognise the skill that goes into them.”

She said the colour photographs, taken by fairground enthusiast Lionel Bathe, demonstrated the popularity of steam shows and events such as the Festival of Britain.

“These pictures have never been on public display and their rare colour makes them very special,” she said.

Five “magic” sideshows dating from as early as 1937 will be used in public for the first time since being restored by enthusiasts.

They include Cleo: The Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Gloria: The Living Half-Lady and The Mummy in which a woman appears to turn into a walking corpse.

They have been recreated by touring theatre company Sideshow Illusions with original equipment used by 1930s and 1940s Blackpool fire-eater showman Jon Gresham.

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Crowds are coming, but vendors say they are spending less
By C. Ron Allen | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

With two days remaining for the South Florida Fair, people are attending the 17-day event despite the stormy economy, fair officials said. “Last year we had some big numbers so anything close to last year or two years ago is a real success story,” said spokesman John Picano. “What we will do is wait until it is all over; but up to this point, we’re having a solid fair.” The South Florida Fair drew 586,550 people in 2007 and more than 590,000 in 2008.

Several of the fair’s commercial and food vendors said fairgoers have been guarded about spending their money. Some midway vendors said revenue has plummeted compared with last year, though none could provide specific numbers. “Maybe they’re coming in, but they’re not spending money,” said Nadine Turner, a cotton candy vendor from Spartanburg, S.C. “Everybody I’ve talked to say business is down,” said Turner, who has been operating a cotton candy and soda booth since 1990. Some said the $15 tickets for general admission and $10 fee for preferred parking are deterrents.

“If you have a family of six people, you’re going to blow $100 before you get in the gate,” said Harry Darlington, a food vendor from New York. He said he is in his 32nd year of state and county fair business. Picano said fair attendees could have saved as much as 38 percent by buying tickets in advance and using the available free parking. “Actually, a family of four, depending on the ages of their children, literally can get in here for $20 with free parking if they planned ahead,” Picano said.

Several vendors said they fared better at smaller fairs last year than at the larger events. “I think that people aren’t traveling as much,” said Priscilla Puckett, a Pennsylvania resident who has been selling roasted peanuts at state fairs for several years. “With the cost of gas last year, it seems people were going to the little neighborhood fairs and not the bigger ones.”

To Viola Fashaw and her sister, Odessa McDonald, the fair has been a family event for more than 40 years.
The sisters and several of their Delray Beach siblings take their children to the event. “I still enjoy it,” said McDonald, adding that she no longer goes on. “Now we look at the shows and we walk and eat.” Said Fashaw: “Not as much, but we’re still spending. We already caught three shows today.”

This guy has a buyer looking for a Big Eli wheel and finds one in Ill. in the weeds.

HomeTownSource.Com
2008 Minnesota State Fair shows $900,000 operating gain

St. Paul, MN – - Financial reports released during the State Fair’s 150th Annual Meeting show the annual event realized a net operating gain of $900,000 in 2008 based on gross revenues of $36.2 million and gross operating expenses of $35.3 million.

Income is reinvested in maintaining and improving the 320-acre State Fairgrounds and producing the coming year’s State Fair. The State Fair is a financially self-sufficient quasi-state agency that does not receive federal, state or local funding.

More than $4.2 million in maintenance and improvement projects for the State Fairgrounds were approved by the fair’s board of managers during the meeting.

Projects approved for 2009 include a major new $1 million educational dairy exhibit in the Cattle Barn; shade structures; additions to the recycling center; spiff-up of the Grandstand for its 100th birthday this year; and hundreds of painting, maintenance and landscape jobs across the historic fairgrounds. All capital projects are funded through State Fair operating income and grants from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation.

In other business conducted during the meeting, Robert Lake of Aitkin was re-elected to a one-year term as president of the State Fair. Joe Fox of Maplewood was re-elected to a two-year term on the board as fourth district vice-president.

New members Paul Merkins of Stewart and Ron Oleheiser of Grand Rapids were elected to serve on the board of managers representing the Society’s second and eighth districts, respectively. Dennis Baker of Spicer, and Al Paulson of Shevlin were both re-elected to three-year terms on the board, representing the seventh and ninth districts, respectively. Jim Grass of Owatonna, a long-time State Fair swine exhibitor and 4-H Purple Ribbon Auction Committee chair, was elected to honorary life membership in the Society. The late Gale C. Frost, official State Fair historian and museum curator, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the fair’s highest honor.

The Annual Meeting, held Jan. 16-18 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, was attended by hundreds of agricultural society delegates from throughout the state as part of a joint convention of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society (governing body of the State Fair), Minnesota Federation of County Fairs and Midwest Showmen’s Association.

The Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest and best-attended expositions in the world, attracting nearly 1.7 million visitors annually. Showcasing Minnesota’s finest agriculture, art and industry, the Great Minnesota Get-Together is always 12 Days of Fun Ending Labor Day. Visit www.mnstatefair.org for more information.

The 2009 fair runs Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

By MARC VALERO – Highlands Today

Armband Prices Lower This Year

SEBRING – Like a racing pit crew, workers bent down Thursday with their grease guns to squirt a dab on the wheel bearings of the Indy Racing cars.

But this Indy Racing is not for professional drivers, it’s just one of 30 rides Reithhoffer Shows will feature on the Midway of the Highlands County Fair, which opens at 5 p.m. today.

Ride operator Stephan Bukvic manned the controls testing each car on Indy Racing, which is a rollercoaster-type ride.

It’s a family ride for kids, teens and adults, he said.

The 72nd annual fair will have a better assortment of rides this year including the Giant Wheel, which is a larger ferris wheel than has been featured at past fairs, former fair president Richard McClain said Thursday.

“Youth and agriculture, that’s what it’s all about,” McClain said as he made the rounds of the fairgrounds. The fair promotes FFA and 4-H and agriculture. Food sales at the Firemen’s barbecue kitchen supports Project Graduation.

There will be about 100 poultry and rabbit entries in the small animal barn, he said, and 15 or 16 heifers and 90 swine entries.

Exhibiters prepared their displays and the ride operators tested and cleaned their colorful thrill and family rides.

Along with the sights and sounds of a fair coming alive, the smell of freshly popped popcorn on Thursday confirmed that food, fun, entertainment and excitement was just a day away.

Though the printed fair schedules show $20 for the armband for unlimited rides, McClain said, due to the slow economy, the unlimited-ride armbands will be $17.

Unlike some fairs, which only have two armband days, at the Highlands County Fair every day is an armband day, he said. It’s the best value for those who enjoy the rides.

The Midway rides include, the Avalanche, Pharaohs Fury, Tornado, Crazy Bus, Power Surge, Zipper, Fireball, the Fun Slide and many more.

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Source
Advertisement from Sylacauga,AL 1909

The Red Men of this city have made arrangements with the great metropolitan shows and will hold a carnival, either on the streets or some vacant lot as best suits the business people and officials of the city. The carnival company will arrive next Sunday and the shows will be open to the public Monday night. From the time the beautiful electric illumination is turned on until “Saturday night there will be one continual round of pleasure and good fellowship. The company carries the Royal Italian Band who appears in concerts every evening and night.

For a chief free attraction they offer Velare, in the most sensational, thrilling and death defying act ever attempted. This young athlete astride a bicycle comes down an 80 foot incline at the speed of an express train; reaching a precipice 40 feet from the ground he throws himself from the wheel and sails through space landing in a tank 60 feet away, which contains bur four feet of water.

The show carries 10 pay attractions and they are so varied in their making that everybody will be able to pick out some that will please their particular fancy.

There can be seen, the old plantation with 14 happy darkies, singing, dancing, comedians and cake walkers.

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By MARC VALERO
Highlands Today

SEBRING – The 72nd Highlands County Fair starts its nine-day run of shows, rides, contests, exhibits and more on Friday.

The Midway will feature the Reithoffer Shows with thrill rides, family rides, kiddie’s rides, games, food and fun for the whole family.

The Expo Stage comes alive with rock ‘n’ roll bands and other musical performances.

Livestock judging and showmanship is featured in the Livestock Pavilion.

See a variety of displays and exhibits in the three exhibits buildings on the Independent Midway.

A new beauty pageant joins the Miss Highlands County and Junior Miss Highlands County beauty pageants.

The Little Miss Highlands County Pageant will make its debut at 7 p.m., Monday, in the Expo Pavilion with six contestants between the ages of 8 and 11.

Christie Spiegel, coordinator for all three pageants, said with the fair being held earlier than usual a lot of people were unaware of the earlier deadline dates for the pageants.

“I think this one will grow; it’s something new,” she said of the Little Miss pageant. “I think next year will be a little different.”

Spiegel stressed that fairgoers should note that the Miss Highlands County (ages 16-19) and the Junior Miss Highlands County (ages 12-15) beauty pageants will be held on different nights of the week than in the past.

The Junior Miss Highlands County Pageant, with 17 contestants, will be held the opening night of the fair (Friday) at 7 p.m. in the Expo Pavilion.

The Miss Highlands County Pageant, with 11 contestants, will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, in the Expo Pavilion.

“Boot Scootin’ Beauty” is the theme for all three pageants.

By STEVEN BERGER
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Just over a year ago, the RC-48 was set aside, stuffed into open-air containers on the New Jersey boardwalk.

The largest portable roller coaster in the nation is now the newest showpiece at the South Florida Fair’s midway.

Lined with University of Florida flags, the orange-and-blue roller coaster wasn’t in any shape to run last year when it was purchased by Frank Zaitshik. The owner of Wade Shows Inc., the company that runs the fair’s midway, Zaitshik took a gamble with the 5-story-tall roller coaster, which had been sitting unused for three years.

The RC-48 almost debuted at last year’s fair, but rebuilding and testing the roller coaster would have cut it very close with the fair’s opening. Zaitshik instead chose to set it up at the Florida State Fair, which would offer an entire month to make sure everything ran smoothly.

“It was like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “We had to lay it all out, and then try and figure out how to put it together.”

The gamble paid off. The RC-48 worked and was the top money-winner at that fair, Zaitshik said.

Wade Shows has invested between $500,000 and $600,000 in the RC-48, the vast majority spent on work put into the roller coaster after it was purchased, he said. If the company put it back on the market today they would ask for $1.2 million.

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Aldrich M. Tan • The Indio Sun

Several new carnival rides are coming to the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival.

The Viper, Balloon Samba and Hip Hop Fun House are the newest rides that will be at the festival’s carnival grounds.

Butler Amusements, based in Fairfield, has provided the carnival rides for the Indio-based festival since 1997. They are also at 37 fairs in six Western states.

The rides are being aimed more toward families so children can enjoy them with their parents, said Andrea Owen, marketing director for Butler Amusements.

“We try to purchase new rides every single year to keep the experience fresh so that the Midway is not the same thing every year,” she said.

The Viper seats 24 people and has more than 3,000 lights, Owen said. The ride’s large arm tilts and spins. Two clusters at the end of each arm will also twist and spin.

The Viper debuted last year and has been known to be a high-capacity thrill ride, Owen said.

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By Alison Meaney – Sun News

In response to an influx of crime stemming from the Forest of the Lost Souls operation on Sugar Ridge Road last fall, City Council is revisiting the ordinance governing circuses, menageries, carnivals and other public exhibitions for the first time since the 1960s.

At the request of Council President Bernadine Butkowski, the safety committee brainstormed the option of requiring criminal history background checks for festival and event operators.

“The disastrous haunted house down on Sugar Ridge caused a lot of problems,” Butkowski said. “We need to know who we’re dealing with.”

This fall thefts from businesses, vehicles and a residence in the area surrounding were linked with haunted forest employees after police discovered a stolen golf cart on the Forest of Lost Soul property.

Four male employees of the Forest of Lost Souls were suspected of receiving stolen property and theft-related crimes. One adult has since been charged, two other adults are facing charges and the fourth has been referred to juvenile court.

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