Fans of the Michigan State Fair said most of their good-byes in September, when the oldest fair in the country closed for what they feared was the last time.
Those fears were realized Friday as Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed a $7.1-million appropriation (most of it from fair-related revenue) approved by the Legislature in an attempt to save the 160-year-old fair. The veto likely ends any hope the fair had of surviving in its traditional form, although supporters hope to find other financial support and uses for the fair and fairgrounds at Woodward and 8 Mile Road.
In her veto message to the Legislature, Granholm said that “given current revenue constraints, tax dollars can no longer subsidize State Fair operations.”
One of those fans, Mary Ann Michalski of Roseville said Friday she was saddened but not surprised by the news.
“It’s a shame. It’s understandable in this economy,” Michalski said. “But we had the oldest aquarium,” on Belle Isle, “and we shut that down. We have the oldest fair. … We’re just letting these jewels go.”
There were a whole lotta people at “A Whole Lotta Happy.”
North Carolina State Fair officials said Monday that this year’s fair – which used the promotional slogan “A Whole Lotta Happy” – broke records for total and single-day attendance.
The fair drew 877,941 attendees this year, beating the previous record of 858,611 in 2007.
The crowd on Oct. 25 also set a single day record of 104,370.
Fair spokeswoman Natalie Alford said that several days of good weather helped boost attendance. She also thought that the recent economic slump might have helped as well.
Tickets for the fair were $7 for adults at the gate and $5 in advance – an affordable recreation alternative for folks who had stayed home and pinched pennies for months.
“People… have been just itching to get out and do something fun and the state fair is fun,” she says.
Powers Great American Midways provided the rides for the fourth time this year. The company is slated to pay the fair $5.50 per paid admission ticket.
That would generate $4.8 million in revenue based on an attendance of 877,941. But Alford said the attendance figure includes some complimentary tickets and that she wasn’t sure yet how much revenue the fair would generate from the event.
The Vivona brothers are at home for the 47th year with the Eastern Carolina Agricultural Fair under way through Sunday at the ECA fairgrounds.
The brothers, Morris, 89, Dominic, 77 and Phil, 74, are owners of Amusements of America (AOA), which provides the rides and everything involved with the annual fair. Dominic and Phil are graduates of Duke University with business degrees.
The family has been in the carnival business since 1940. Before that, they were in the frozen custard business.
“They didn’t have any ice cream places in those days like the Dairy Queen and Caravel’s,” Morris said. “So we had a frozen custard machine that we took to different carnivals. We made the custard in front of our customers, and they had to dip it. Today, you just put a cone there.”
The Vivonas traveled widely with carnivals until 1940, when the carnival owner told the family that he was putting in his own ice cream.
“My father said we’re going to start our own carnival,” Morris said.
There just happened to be a Ferris wheel left over from the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
“We bought the Ferris wheel,” Morris said. “We took it and the ice cream machine and we played local festivals in New Jersey. Then, we bought a merry-go-round, a swing ride, an Octopus and more equipment.”
There were six brothers when they started. Three are left.
Amusements of America’s first southern headquarters were in Sumter from 1954 to 1972. They then moved to Miami from 1972 to 2008.
The company is now headquartered in Florence.
“We love Florence,” said Dominic, who lives in Mount Pleasant with his Charleston-born and bred wife, Helena.
“When we close up here Sunday, we go to Charleston for the Coastal Carolina Fair,” Dominic said.
The brothers are married, and their wives travel from fair to fair with them. Additionally, their children are involved in different facets of the business.
How do they manage to get along so well?
“We haven’t found each other yet,” Morris said.
“No, it’s because they don’t have any guns,” Helena quipped.
“The bottom line is we have a lot of patience with each other,” Phil said. “We don’t have any problems.”
The season begins at the end of March and runs through the first week of November. The brothers are on the road 8½ months out of the year.
What do they enjoy the most?
“All of this has a certain thrill to it,” Phil said. “When the lot is full, all the rides have lines to them and everybody is having fun, you really get a jolt of excitement.”
“It’s a happy business,” Helena said. “We see happy faces all the time.”
Morris says it’s been a good life, one he would do over in a heartbeat.
“I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I have a good married life,” the New Jersey native said. “I’ve got good kids, good brothers, and they have good kids.
“Our children know what to do. They know how to set the fair up, take it down, do the booking and operate it. We’re just out here to help them.”
Dominic says the most popular ride is the roller coaster followed by the Fireball.
And there’s a new ride this year called the Extreme.
“The Extreme has done very well,” Dominic said. “It goes real fast.”
Among the other new faces AOA has on tap this year are Rosaire’s Royal Racers, the magic of Lance Gifford & Co., the Fearless Flores Circus and Thrill Show and live bands playing daily.
Lester Spell, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and State Fair Commission Chairman, along with Mike Williams, of North American Midway Entertainment, have announced that the 150th Mississippi State Fair will be extended one extra day for Mississippi fairgoers to enjoy.
The extended day will be known as $2 MONDAY, offering fairgoers discounted prices on admission ($2), parking ($2), rides ($2), corndogs ($2), and other discounted food items offered by vendors. Due to the excessive rainfall across the State of Mississippi and in the Jackson-Metro Area, the Mississippi Fair Commission and North American Midway will extend the Fair through Monday, October 19, 2009, to allow the public one more day to enjoy the wonderful sights and sounds, exciting rides, and delicious food.
“Due to factors beyond our control with the weather this past week and favorable weather in the forecast, we decided to extend the State Fair through Monday and offer a great deal to the public for $2 MONDAY. I would like to thank the public for its overwhelming support and North American Midway for its willingness to continue for one more day of fun and excitement,” said Spell.
Billy Orr, Fair Commission Executive Director, added, “I would like to invite everyone who hasn’t made it to the Fair yet or wants to make a repeat visit, to come enjoy the good weather this weekend and our $2 MONDAY special.”
The Fair will open its gates at the regular scheduled times for Saturday and Sunday, and will open at 11:00 a.m. on Monday. For Monday, parking and admission will be free from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. After 1:00 p.m., parking, admission, rides, and all corndogs will be $2 each for $2 MONDAY.
FRUITLAND TOWNSHIP — About the only thing missing in Ray Genter’s creation is the sounds of happy children and the smell of cotton candy.
From Ferris wheels and bumper cars to carnival-goers and Sno-cone stands, Genter’s elaborate miniature carnival features small versions of seemingly everything that make full-size carnivals popular and fun. A carnival fanatic and stickler for details, Genter even went so far as to put miniature portable bathrooms, fake generators and replica electrical wires on each section of his mini carnival.
Fruitland Township residents Ray and Sharon Genter will be donating their miniature carnival collection, appraised at $78,000, to the International Independent Showman's Museum Corp. in Gibsonton, Fla. The miniature carnival has 15,000 people, 127 rides, 275 concession stands and 74 carnival shows.
In theory, a person standing 1 or 2 millimeters tall would have a memorable and fun day on Genter’s mini-display.
The mini-carnival is 24 years in the making. Genter, who owned and operated a full-size carnival called Great Lakes Amusement in the 1980s, collected, painted and, in some cases, made the more than 15,000 miniature pieces that cover the display.
Some pieces he bought at hobby shops and painted with small, precise brushes. Others he made from scratch. Some of the miniature items took a week to make, others three to four weeks. The small figurines are measured in millimeters while the roller coaster is 3-feet long.
“Once a carny, always a carny,” Genter said, describing the enjoyment he experienced while working the ticket booth of his full-size carnival and while designing the pieces of his miniature version. “It got into my blood.”
Genter’s miniature carnival includes 127 rides, 74 shows, 275 concession stands and about 15,000 other miniature pieces, including men, women and children. The display, which had been set up in his basement, started with one 3-foot by 4-foot table and grew to cover 16 tables. He actually had additional items to cover two more tables, but he ran out of room in the basement.
Likely one of the largest miniature carnivals, Genter’s display is being donated to a carnival-preservation group in Gibsonton, Fla. Ivan Arnold, president of the International Independent Showman’s Museum Corporation, was in the area recently to pick up the miniature carnival and was impressed with the Genter’s attention to detail with side shows, trucks and little banners.
“I was amazed by it,” Arnold said of Genter’s collection. “He obviously put a lot of work into it.”
Arnold said Genter’s miniature carnival will be displayed in one of the rooms of the museum, which is under construction. Museum officials are hoping to have the museum open in 2010.
Paul Becker, president of Fun and Games Inc. in Muskegon, appraised the miniature-carnival collection at $78,575. Becker has been appraising hobby displays for 30 years.
“It’s been a lot of fun making it,” Genter said. “I want the stuff to be preserved.”
Genter, 74, admitted that he will miss the display, but he plans on making more miniature pieces for a new display.
Genter’s wife of 40 years, Sharon, has grown accustomed to her husband’s obsession with carnivals. They never miss a carnival in the area and she knows that he will check ahead on scheduled carnivals before they take out-of-town trips.
Regardless, she will miss the miniature carnival display, too.
“It’s a lot better than him being on the road,” Sharon said of her husband previously spending 22 weeks a year on the road when he operated a full-size carnival.
Ray and Sharon Genter are the owner/operators and namesakes of the three Flowers by Ray and Sharon stores. They own the floral stores in North Muskegon, Muskegon Township and Norton Shores with other family members.
Genter, who opened his first floral store 33 years ago, followed a unique career path as a carny and a florist.
Born and raised in Ludington across the street from the West Michigan fairgrounds, Genter took an early interest in the carnival business. As a young boy growing up during the Depression, he was forced to work at carnival if he wanted to attend.
His mother didn’t like the idea of Genter pursuing a career working at a carnival, so she pushed him toward the floral business when he was 16.
