CarnivalMidways.Com

By Debra Moore – Redding.Com

When you think of fair food, what comes to mind?

“Corn dogs,” said Heather Waldrop without hesitation. The Redding resident prefers hers with ketchup, not the traditional mustard.

Tehama District Fair employee Jacque Brown said corn dogs are the most popular food at the fair.

“People love corn dogs,” she said. “They also like funnel cake and all the sugar stuff.”

The Shasta District Fair starts today in Anderson. In honor of unique fair food, we offer recipes to bring the fair into your home year-round.

Waldrop also cites sweet treats when she thinks about fair food – cotton candy and caramel apples.

While some people might wait until fair time to indulge in these treats, Victoria Rodriguez of Redding makes these foods at home. She made corn dogs for her boys when they were young and whips up batches of caramel apples for family and friends during the holidays and for other special occasions.

Rodriguez said she once asked a carnival worker for his corn dog recipe.

“It’s the easiest recipe,” she said. “Their secret was pancake batter.”

Carnival workers would mix up big batches of Krusteaz pancake batter and then dip the hot dogs into the batter and fry them.

Rodriguez duplicated the recipe for her sons. “You just make the batter according to the package instructions and then dip a hot dog into it. Sometimes it took two coats,” she said.

She then fried the corn dogs in hot oil.

“They looked pretty authentic,” she said. “And the boys loved them.”

She also made corn dogs for their Boy Scout troop with an equally enthusiastic response.

While corn dogs are now rarely on the menu since the boys left home, caramel apples remain in demand.

“Everybody wants one,” Rodriquez said.

She and her friend, Michelle Porter, spend a day shopping, making, decorating and wrapping the festive gifts. While they are favorite holiday treats, Rodriguez said that they also make great hostess or thank you gifts.

Rodriguez and Porter start with the best apples they can find. They prefer to work with Granny Smith apples for their tart, crisp taste. They look for apples that are blemish-free and well-rounded.

Rodriguez’ husband, Cisco, gets into the act by sharpening wooden dowels purchased at Michael’s to insert into the apples. Popsicle sticks work well, but Rodriguez prefers the look and sturdiness of dowels.

Because they make so many apples at a time (40 last Christmas), the women buy caramel in 5-pound slabs.

Rodriguez said the individually wrapped caramels can also be used, but cautions that it takes a long time to unwrap the candy.

The women melt the candy in the microwave, being careful not to scorch it. While the candy is melting, sliced almonds are placed on cookie sheets. Once the apples are dipped into the melted caramel, they are immediately pressed into the almonds and then placed on parchment paper to set.

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Source: PETA

This morning, PETA fired off a letter to Jerry Fitzgerald, chair of the Nebraska State Fair, urging him to ensure that all animal exhibitors who are invited to the fair will be in full compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). In the letter, PETA points out that its offices are inundated every year with complaints that exhibitors at fairs and festivals across the country have abused animals or endangered the public. PETA explains that although animal exhibitors are required to be licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a license is no guarantee that exhibitors will provide adequate animal care or follow public safety measures. The group also points out that many exhibitors fail to comply with the minimal federal standards established in the AWA.

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By D. Linsey Wisdom – MaconNews.Com

There’s an unmistakable feeling of excitement when the carnival comes to town. It might be that lose-your-stomach thrill of the tilt-a-whirl or the press-your-luck game of dart throwing. Maybe it’s the excitement as the sounds and lights of the joy rides beckon through the night.

Maybe it’s just the smell of funnel cakes.

Whatever it is, the carnival is in town, and the people in Macon County are rediscovering their childhood, no matter what their age, as they head over to Highlands Road and stop by for some fun. They’re called “marks” as they make their way down the midways, the walkways that get you from your favorite trip on the Ferris wheel to one last stop at corn dog heaven. Along the way they are heckled and beckoned to come and “win a prize, win a prize, win a prize.” Somehow it’s hard to resist that temptation of leaving a carnival without a six-foot stuffed snake, an oversized basketball or that giant teddy bear in tow. It’s part of the game.

Adding to the fun is the mystery of the carnie – the workers who come and go with the carnival, carrying their wares, calling to the crowd and often imagined as the rough and tumble set parents warn their children about. But like most stereotypes, it’s a little overblown, and at Dominick and Ruby Macaroni’s show, you aren’t likely to stumble into trouble. “It’s just life here. The only thing that is different is you travel. Everybody has a job. Everyone has a responsibility. We get up every day and go to work,” Ruby said. She sits under the awning behind the motor home she and her husband travel in while her grand daughter chases fire flies in the night. Her husband, Dominick, was raised at the carnival. It was the family business he grew up in, and now his family runs the show. “We all do what we got to do,” Ruby said.

They bought the Family Attractions carnival in 1996, and, even before they bought it, this carnival had been a mainstay in Franklin for as long as she has known.

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By Chandra Broadwater, St. Petersburg Times staff writer

Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please.

The International Independent Showmen’s Association proudly presents one of the few carnival museums in the country. Location? Across the street from the group’s headquarters in Riverview.

The Showman’s Museum in Riverview has been a work in progress for seven years.

It has been years in the making. With more money to complete the project in the organization’s coffers and the right zoning in place, the professionals who travel the country setting up Ferris Wheels and Tilt-A-Whirls look forward to having a place to document their own past.

“A lot of people call carnivals the circus,” said Ivan Arnold, president of the showmen’s group. “But it’s not. The circus has a big tent. We’ve got the rides.”

In a world where the luster of winning giant stuffed animals has dimmed, the organization thinks it’s more important than ever to preserve the past.

This gang of carnies plans to get back on their way to completing the museum, located near Palmer Street and Riverview Drive. They have been working on the building, now a concrete shell about 52,000 square feet, for nearly seven years.

The goal is to have it finally complete in another two years. Visitors can expect to pay some sort of nominal fee to enter the museum, but the showmen still have to make a final decision, said Jim Elliot, the association’s secretary.

Elliott said the group has spent about $900,000, and needs another $2 million to finish it. With about half that amount raised, they continue seeking contributions.

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Ledger-Dispatch.Com

California kids now have one more incentive to tackle their summer reading lists.

Building on the success of the past four years, the California State Fair and its new carnival operator, Butler Amusements, will continue with the popular literacy program that rewards youth for reading books.

How it works

The Read to Ride program is simple: read three books, get three free ride tickets. Any California student in kindergarten through eighth grade can read any three books of their choice and fill out a summary report form. (Children in grade 1 or below are allowed to draw pictures instead.) After receiving approval from a teacher, parent or guardian, they simply bring the completed report form to Guest Services at the state fair and receive three free midway ride passes.

“The state fair has always been a haven for families seeking wholesome, affordable entertainment. With discretionary income at an all time low, programs like this are especially important,” said state fair CEO and General Manager Norb Bartosik. “In addition, the Read to Ride program is the perfect way to encourage summer reading and highlight the back-to-school season.”

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