By DEENA WINTER – Lincoln Journal Star
When your parents own a carnival, you can ask for bigger-than-usual presents.
Like a Sky Wheel – a sort of double Ferris wheel.
Mary Panacek’s son, Charles Jr., wanted one when he was a teenager, so she and her husband bought it. Which worked out well because they owned an amusement [...]
By Dennis Yohnka – The Daily Journal correspondent
Michael Snow is hooked on his brand of show business. At 54, he’s still playing the same circuit he joined 37 years ago, but he loves what he does.
“I couldn’t imagine any other life,” said Snow as he prepared to bring his “Century Wheel” to the midway at [...]
WCCO-TV
Shanghaied Henri’s at the Minnesota State Fair wants everyone to know about their latest offering: Summit on a Stick.
The company said it’s the first time there will be beer on a stick at the Fair. The treat will be sold at the Summit booth at the Summit stage in the International Bazaar at the Fairgrounds.
They [...]
By Zac Taylor, Observer-Reporter.Com
Mark McGrath watches attentively from his control panel as the cylindrical carnival ride he is operating rapidly spins several giggling, screaming children at a 45-degree angle some 15 feet in the air.
“They don’t put nobody on this machine that don’t know how to operate it,” McGrath says as he slowly brings the [...]
The P.T. Barnum of our time: Mr. Ward Hall, retired president of The International Independent Showmans Association, shares his thoughts on the heydays of The Ohio State Fair
by Liz Reyna – Lansing City Pulse
At the Ingham County Fair, it´s easy to be intimidated.
With the array of faces behind booths beckoning you to throw this, or fish for this or take a shot at that, it’s like walking through a foreign bazaar.
And, it’s easy to envision the hawkers behind the booths as a [...]
By CHRISTINA GUENTHNER – Argus-Press
The family behind the carnival rides at the Shiawassee County Fair knows the business well – they have been involved with it for more than 150 years.
Now owned by the fifth generation, Skerbeck Brothers Shows has roots all the way back to 1857 when the Frank Skerbeck family decided to trade [...]
KAHRIN DEINES Of The Gazette Staff
Some of the carnies visiting town for the Montana Fair have a new hobby: knitting hats for babies and neck-warmers for soldiers.
Self-titled the Itty Bitty Knitting Committee, the group gathers to share stitching knowledge and enjoy each others’ company in the months they are away from home.
“The carnival is pretty [...]
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ – ABC NEWS Business Unit
State fair season is beginning and, for many, that means one thing: food. Lots and lots of food, often deep fried, on a stick or deep fried and on a stick.
Can you say fried pineapple on a stick? Or pork chop on a stick? Or, even more perplexing, [...]
Elizabeth Ayres – Herald-Citizen Staff
COOKEVILLE — People are more likely to remember the carnival rides or the candied apples over any people they may meet at the fair. The faces change every so often, as do the rides, but some things are constant: the husband-and-wife team of Jerry and Joanna Geren, who bring [...]
