Traveling Carnival News,Pictures and Videos.

Source – 33TV.Com

DALLAS – 24 days of fair rides and fair food are just not enough! Not according to State Fair officials. And not when the green line is bringing people to Fair Park.

So now get ready for the summer of 2012!

That’s when the Texas Star may get it’s chance to shine during the summer months starting that year.

Sue Gooding, Vice-President of Public Relations for the State Fair if Texas said, “In 2012, opening what we’re now calling Summer Place.”

The Midway will be that place for a line-up of summer fun to include rides like the Texas Skyway, some other mainstays, and some new rides, if everything goes as planned.

Gooding said, “We want everybody to come out, pitch in and make this the greatest State Fair of Texas we have ever had.”

For Summer Place to take place, the fair is hoping for a banner year of profit.

So far, opening weekend appears on target. So the State Fair is planning to buy a giant space needle.

Then the next year, they’ll buy a roller coaster.

And they plan to work with the museums at fair park to give visitors a package deal.

State Fair Visitor Jennifer Haynes said, “That would be a great idea so we wouldn’t have to go all the way to six flags, it would be something for the little ones like this one to do.”

And state fair officials are counting on the green line to get some of them here.

But don’t expect the entire fair experience. The fried banana peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be reserved for the 24 days of the state fair.

None of the deep fried goodies during the summer. State Fair visitor Mark Kitchen said this about the fried foods: “But this is what makes coming out here.” Gooding with the State Fair said, “We want to keep products distinctively different”

During the summer, the midway would have other fair foods such as corn dogs and funnel cakes.

Kitchen disagreed, “I can see their point, but coming out to the midway and not having a morsel of this, that would be a disappointment.

After a long summer and a few days rest, I’ve had some time to work on the site. And tonight I decided to change the addresss of the News/Blog to http://www.carnivalmidways.com/News_Blog/ , all your links should be taking you to the new address, but for those of you who have us bookmarked, please update it.

Thank You

Source: Monika Rued – Today’sThv

Sheriff’s investigators have arrested two Baxter County juveniles for allegedly selling fake ride tickets for the Baxter County Fair and Carnival.

Archway Amusements, which operates the carnival rides and games at the Baxter County Fair, contacted the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday after realizing they had duplicate ticket numbers.

Investigator Brad Hurst interviewed several students. He found that at least 37 fraudulent ride tickets had been scanned and printed at home on a personal computer by a school student. These tickets were then taken to the junior high school and sold to other students for cash.

The two boys, 14 and 15, face theft by deception charges in juvenile court.

Source: LINDA MASTERS – Baxter Bulletin

Fair food has changed. In times past, a mention of going to the fair conjured up visions of corn dogs, cotton candy and funnel cakes. These days, fair food has changed into anything that can cooked in a vat of oil — deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried pickles, deep-fried Coca-Cola, deep-fried Snickers, deep-fried strawberries and chicken-fried bacon — or anything you can eat off a stick.

New and innovative fair food seems to debut at state fairs before making the rounds at county fairs. The winner of this year’s Big Tex Choice Awards at the State Fair of Texas is none other than artery-clogging, calorie-ridden, deep-fried butter. Yes folks, you read that correctly, deep-fried butter, so you can look for that to arrive at the county fair next year. In the interest of health, I will skip that recipe.

Here are a few recipes — some new, some old, some healthy, some not — so you can enjoy the flavors of the fair throughout the year:

Caramel Apples

A new product, Kraft Caramel Bits, takes the tedious task of unwrapping caramels out of making caramel apples and really speeds up the process.

1. 11-ounce package Kraft Caramel Bits
2. 2 tablespoons water
3. 6 large apples (I used Paula Reds)
4. 6 wooden sticks
5. 3/4 cup crushed peanuts
6. 7-ounce tub Baker’s Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate
7. Assorted sprinkles

Combine caramel bits and water; heat over low heat, stirring until smooth.

Be sure apples are room temperature and dry. Insert wooden sticks into apples. Holding each apple by the stick, swirl in the caramel to coat. Allow excess to drip off. Dip in crushed peanuts, if desired, and place on waxed paper. Allow caramel to set.

If decorating with chocolate, skip dipping in the peanuts and place apples on waxed paper to allow caramel to set. Follow directions on dipping chocolate to melt in the microwave. With a fork, drizzle chocolate over apples. Before chocolate hardens, add assorted sprinkles.

Makes 6.

Chocolate-Covered Bacon

This tidbit originated at Famous Dave’s at the Minnesota State Fair. A treat called Pig Lickers sounds weird, but the salty bacon marries perfectly with velvety, smooth chocolate to create a very unusual delicacy.

1. 1 pound bacon
2. 7-ounce tub Baker’s Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate

Cook bacon crisply by your favorite method — I like to use the microwave because the bacon stays flat. Crispness is the key, so make sure the bacon is crisp. Drain well and cool.

Follow directions on dipping chocolate to melt in the microwave.

Carefully dip half of each piece of bacon into the chocolate. Transfer to waxed paper to allow chocolate to harden before serving.

You also can pop it in the freezer for a few minutes and serve cold.

Corn on a Stick

Following the introduction of the corn dog, people learned to love the convenience of eating food on a stick. This is really easy, and children love it. For safety sake, nip off the sharp end of each wooden skewer once you have impaled the corn. Try it at your next picnic or cookout.

1. Fresh corn on the cob
2. Butter
3. Mrs. Dash Table Blend
4. Paprika or smoked paprika

Husk and de-silk the corn. Cut or break each ear in half. Cook according to your favorite method. I like to wrap each piece of corn in a damp paper towel and microwave 1-2 minutes.

Once the corn is cooked, using an oven mitt hold the corn and push a skewer through the middle. Butter the corn and sprinkle with Mrs. Dash Table Blend and either paprika or smoked paprika.

Serve at once on skewers.

Deep-Fried Dill Pickles

Deep-fried pickles combines the flavors of savory and salty. Give them a try; they are surprisingly good.

1. 8-ounce jar sliced dill pickles, drained
2. Vegetable oil, for frying
3. Coating:
4. 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
5. 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
6. 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
7. 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
8. 1 teaspoon paprika
9. 3/4 teaspoon cumin
10. 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
11. 3/4 teaspoon sugar
12. 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Heat at least 3 inches of oil in a deep saucepan to 350 degrees.

Combine coating ingredients. Toss a handful of pickles in the flour mixture and coat well. Shake the pickles to remove loose coating and transfer to the hot oil. Fry until the coating is golden and crispy, 3-4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pickles to a paper towels to drain. Continue frying pickles in small batches. If you crowd the pickles, they will stick to each other. Also, too many pickles will lower the temperature of the oil and create pickles that are greasy.

Serve with ranch dip.

Serves 6-8.

Apple Fritters

The Methodist church serves apple fritters at a huge 2-day fall festival in my hometown in Illinois. You have to get your apple fritters early each day before they sell out.

1. 4 large apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
2. 1/2 cup vegetable oil for deep-frying
3. Rum or lemon juice

Batter:

1. 1 tablespoon sugar
2. 3 eggs, separated
3. 1 cup all-purpose flour
4. 1/8 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 cup beer
6. Confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, mix egg yolks, flour, sugar and salt until combined but not smooth. Mix in beer until batter is smooth. Set aside and allow batter to rest one hour. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the batter.

Just before you are ready to serve, slice apples into 1/2-inch slices. Sprinkle with rum or lemon juice. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Dip apple slices into the batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown, about four minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar or serve with warm honey.

Serves 4-6.

By Amy Bickel – The Hutchinson News

Operator calls it the last traveling one in the nation as venue’s past its heyday.

Pete “Poobah” Terhurne eats fire outside of the “World of Wonders” sideshow at the Kansas State Fair on Friday afternoon.

When Ward Hall ran away from his family’s Nebraska home to join the circus as a flame eater at the age of 15, his father told him he’d be back in just two weeks.

But that was nearly 65 years ago, the 79-year-old Hall says with a smile as he stood outside his “World of Wonders” sideshow. He’s known nothing but this nomadic life since 1946, and he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Yet, he says with a sense of dismay, the American sideshow isn’t what it used to be.

What once was a mainstay at fairs across the nation has slowly faded off the map, he said. He opened his own sideshow in 1951. Now he’s the only one left.

“There’s a permanent one on Coney Island,” Hall said before his 2 p.m. show at the Kansas State Fair. “But we’re the last traveling sideshow in America.”

One by one, they went out of business as employees quit, retired and died, he said.

At one time, when there were more than 100 sideshows in the country, fairgoers would goggle at what some called “freaks.” Hall said it’s not necessarily a more politically correct society that has run the sideshows out of business. He blames a fast-paced life that includes television.

Yet Hall keeps going. He tried to retire in 2003 to his home in Gibsonton, Fla. – a community that has long been a retirement and winter spot for carnival workers and sideshow performers.

The heat of summer, however, was just too unbearable, he said.

He went back on the road.

The group does 50 shows each year during the fair season, said 28-year-old Marcus Epsilon, who has mastered the skill of putting his arms, tongue and other body parts in traps with ease.

Painful?

“It takes skill,” he said with a smile.

Epsilon is part of a lineup of 12 acts that include a man who swallows swords, a woman who seemingly turns into a snake, a human blockhead and Pete “Poobah” Terhurne, a 3-foot-tall, 79-year-old fire eater who has been at Hall’s side for 55 years.

Moreover, unlike sideshows of the past that featured the fat man, a bearded lady and a lobster boy, these shows are more illusions instead of human or animal oddities.

Hall, however, is hopeful for a good fair. Off the fairgrounds main path, past the carnival rides in the northeast corner of the fairgrounds, his exhibit sits, awaiting anyone who will walk by with a few dollars. They perform every 30 minutes.

When the carnival rides start moving, they’ll open their show about an hour later, he said.

“And when the last drunk staggers out the gate, then we’ll shut down,” Hall said.

By Edyta B?aszczyk – Daily Egyptian

The Miller family has five generations and more than 100 years of experience in the carnival business.

It all started in 1906 when the great-grandfather, Gene Miller, of current owner Fred Miller, formed Miller Concession based out of Little Rock, Ark. The business started by providing food for fairs across the country. The little business eventually grew when Gene’s son, Burt Miller, began managing carnivals and buying equipment.

The success evolved into creating their own carnival: Miller’s Gala Exposition Show, which started in 1958. From there the named changed to Miller Brothers Spectacular in the 1970’s to Miller Spectacular Shows in 1983.

Now Fred Miller, his son and father Johnny Miller, run the business. Fred Miller does most of the planning. His business travels as far northeast as St. Joseph, Mich., and as far southwest as Albuquerque, N.M.

“It all started years ago with seven food operations,” Fred Miller said. Now he owns 55 rides.

With 41 rides, 40 games and seven food trailers in the Du Quoin State Fair alone, Fred Miller said placement becomes key. Fred Miller said there is only so much space to layout all the equipment so he usually comes to the fairgrounds a week prior to the event, looks at how much space he has, then uses computer generated layouts to place rides, concession stands, games, generators and trailers to maximize space for function. The team of subcontractors, workers and ride engineers set up and test all the machines in about four days.

“We can do it in a day if we have to,” Fred Miller said.

One of the supervisors, Heath Douglas, has been with the Miller family for nearly 15 years. Douglas passes down his knowledge of the games and rides to younger carnival employees such Dierick Gray, age 16 of Du Quoin, who started working at the carnival for a summer job. Gray calls to patrons as they pass through the carnival, reeling them to his game with the prospect of winning a stuffed animal.

With more families staying home and not going out on vacations, Miller said attendance at his fairs have generally increased.

“There’s something for all ages,” he said.

Life on the road is normal for Fred Miller. He said there is new scenery every two weeks and it never gets boring. His day starts around 9 a.m. and ends around 1:30 a.m.
But even with the long hours, Fred Miller said he has one of the best jobs around.

“We are in the business of fun,” he said.

Source: jgilgun-Youtube
Nice video shot at the 2009 Mn State Fair.

Vernon Morning Star

Scenes from the Interior Provincial Exhibition in Armstrong can jump into your mind like a flashbulb popping.

There are people playing midway games, families boarding the ferris wheel and kids eating ice cream cones while an aroma of frying donut batter wafts by.

But most folks attending the fair between today and Sunday won’t consider the hours put in by employees posted in game stalls and workers running all the rides before the fair even begins to make those experiences possible.

On Tuesday, carnival workers were busy putting the final touches on their displays. For many of them, it will be the final festival in a long summer of travelling around the circuit.

For Ron Dalgliesh, who owns several classic games on the midway including Wac-A-Mole, Duck Pond and Balloon Pop, it’s impossible to imagine doing something different.

“It’s all I’ve ever done,” says the 45-year-old. “I can’t compare it to anything else. Every day there’s something new, you think you’ve seen it all.”

Each year, carnival employees pack up trailers and head out on the road. Some will make as many as 30 stops during the summer in places like Dauphin, Estevan, Lloydminster, Vermilion and Armstrong.

The fair season goes from March to September for Dalgliesh but his job doesn’t end when the last trailer is packed. He’s always getting organized over the winter to do it over again. This is his 30th year on the circuit.

As he’s talking a mop-haired teenager ambles up. He’s looking for some work during the IPE.

He says he’s 16 and Dalgliesh sends him to speak with someone about working one of his games.

“Happens all the time,” says Dalgliesh. “I figure I’ve done good in people’s lives. I see them years later all mature and they tell me how much I’ve helped them.”

To set up and run a game stall or ride for a fair that might last four or five days just to take it all down, drive to a new spot and do it all again, takes a lot of elbow grease.

Wilf Duguay, who works at one of Dalgliesh’s games, says it all depends on the cohesiveness of the team of workers.

“If you have a whole crew working, it’s not a problem,” says Duguay, who has worked on and off in the carnival circuit for 13 years. “The heat is a problem. You have to drink lots of water and keep yourself replenished.”

Further down the midway, another team of workers knows what Duguay says is true. They’re assembling the track for the Orient Express, hefting heavy pieces of steel for the ride. As the sun rises higher, a bottle of cold water is as valuable as anything.

“It’s fun but it can bring a sweat,” says Rena Lafleur, 21.

“You drink lots of fluids and try to get everything done before the sun gets hot.”

Lafleur is in her first full summer on the circuit and teams up with Joe Severight and Bill Hallett to get the Orient Express up and running at each fairground. They have the routine down pat.

“Bill and Joe do the track and I pull the pins,” she explains. “When (track sections) are on the trailer, me and Bill pass them to Joe.”

It’s a job that requires people who aren’t afraid to get their hands a little dirty. Lafleur is no exception.

“I don’t care. They don’t get much cleaner than this,” she says, turning her palms up to reveal thick black smudges of grease.

From one ride to the next, it’s the same story but by the time you get there, everyone will be sporting a fresh face, hoping to make the 110th IPE a success.