More Than Fun and Games

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on January 5, 2009
Posted in: News. Tagged: , , .
Denny Simmons
Courier & Press staff photographer

“The job isn’t all fun and games,” John Fore of Charleston, W.Va., said while manning his booth in freezing temperatures at the annual Winter Wonderland in Owensboro, Ky.

The balloons in the dart game were so cold they wouldn’t pop when they were punctured. They just slowly deflated.

Arguably the most popular ride in Caseys Rides stable, the Tilt-a-Whirl sits idle at the Winter Wonderland in Owensboro on Wednesday evening

Arguably the most popular ride in Casey's Rides' stable, the Tilt-a-Whirl sits idle at the Winter Wonderland in Owensboro on Wednesday evening

Holiday tunes filled the chilly air as the 10-year veteran carnival worker and his co-workers surrounded a 7-foot-tall propane heater next to The Prize Factory to thaw out. They told stories of working with Casey’s Rides out of Utica, Ky. Named for its owner, Norman Casey, now deceased, the carnival was started in 1952. Casey’s grandson, J.D. Green, and his wife, Debra, now run the small operation.

The visitors on this Wednesday evening, New Year’s Eve, were few and far between and had been for most of the week. The carnies debated whether it was the cold temperatures, the economy or the holiday that was keeping the customers away. Most agreed the economy was the major culprit.

“There used to be good money in this,” said Al Kelley of Houston. These days they’re lucky to break even.

The carnival rides have gone up to two bucks a ticket and the games have gone from two to three bucks a try. The best buy for the customer, which is the worst deal for the carnies, is the unlimited rides wristband for $7.50.

“Kids will ride a ride over and over and over again,” Kelley said.

With a fresh pair of foot warmers in his boots, Jake Sanders, 8, of Caseys Rides at the Owensboro (Ky.) Winter Wonderland on Wednesday. Hes a carny kid, John Fore of Charleston, W.Va., said after giving him his spare pair of Toastie Toes. If there are kids around, we take care of em.

With a fresh pair of foot warmers in his boots, Jake Sanders, 8, of Casey's Rides at the Owensboro (Ky.) Winter Wonderland on Wednesday. "He's a carny kid," John Fore of Charleston, W.Va., said after giving him his spare pair of "Toastie Toes." "If there are kids around, we take care of 'em."

This was the last booking of the season for Casey’s Rides and it wouldn’t be long before the carousel (also called “the key to the midway”), Tilt-a-Whirl and Super Slide would be disassembled and stored in multiple barns in Daviess County, Ky. But before that time came, a couple of the workers decided to brave the biting winds to take a turn on the big red, white and blue slide.

“Hey,” Kelley said. “It’s something to do. Especially when there’s nobody here.”

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Indiana Association of Fairs, Festivals and Events (INAFFE) and Virginia Association of Fairs(VAF): Begins Today

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on January 2, 2009
Posted in: News. Tagged: , , .

INAFFE Convention – January 2-4, 2009

Each year the INAFFE holds a convention at the Indianapolis Marriott East to provide networking and educational opportunities for its members. It attracts some 1,500 attendees and includes a Trade Fair.

VAF Convention – January 2-4,2009 – The conference will be held at the Renaissance in Portsmouth, VA.

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Settlement in Carnival Suit

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on December 30, 2008
Posted in: News. Tagged: .

By Ken McLemore
Hope Star

A lawsuit filed here in behalf of the estate of a seven-year old boy killed in an April, 2007, Easter holiday carnival accident has been dismissed concerning all defendants in the multiple-cross-claims action except the maker of the carnival ride, pending the completion of a settlement.

Attorneys for Jelly Saunders Original Razorback Amusements, Inc., of Judsonia, and T.H.E. Insurance Company, insurers for the carnival operator, presented a partial order of dismissal before Eighth Judicial District-North Circuit Judge William Randall Wright in November.

Wright signed the order Nov. 19, and it was filed for record Dec. 2, effectively removing Saunders and THE as defendants in the litigation.

“It appearing that the claims against separate defendants, Jelly Saunders Original Razorback Amusements, Inc., and T.H.E. Insurance Company, have been resolved by way of settlement, the plaintiff’s claims against Jelly Saunders Original Razorback Amusements, Inc. and T.H.E. Insurance Company shall be dismissed with prejudice,” the order states.

Wright’s dismissal of the defendants from the litigation “with prejudice” automatically forecloses renewed or further litigation against them in the claim of Marisol Mendoza, mother of Marcial Alvarado, Jr., as administratrix of the boy’s estate.

Wally Properties, LLC, of Fort Smith, owners of the Hope Expo Center, where the Easter Sunday accident occurred, were dismissed as defendants in a similar filing in May.

Claims filed in the Hempstead County Circuit Court lawsuit revolved primarily around the manufactured design of the Sizzler ride from which the boy was thrown or fell, as well as the responsibility of the carnival operator in allowing the ride to be used, the responsibility of the property owner, and the responsibilities of the child’s mother in allowing him to ride the machine.

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Moline Man Goes to State Fairs – All of Them!

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on December 27, 2008
Posted in: News. Tagged: .

By RITA PEARSON, AP
Source
MOLINE, Ill. – With one well-worn, battered blue suitcase, James Kopel of Moline spent the past 11 years attending every state fair in the United States.

By car and airplane, he figures he traveled about 80,000 miles — about half by air — and spent up to $40,000 to attend the official state fair in 41 states and the unofficial, but main event, in 11 others.

Wearing his John Deere cap and walking shoes, and carrying a map of the fairgrounds, the affable, retired Black Hawk College professor traversed the fairgrounds, sampling the food and viewing the livestock shows, 4-H exhibits and commercial tents at each one.

To say Kopel is an expert on state fairs is an understatement. He created a state fair evaluation form on his laptop computer, rating each state fair on 90 variables, including quality and affordability of food, cleanliness and accessibility of fairgrounds and exhibits, courteous office staff, variety of entertainment and educational experience.

Kopel collected volumes of data and memorabilia along the way, and hopes to write a book on his findings to guide others who love state fairs. Throughout his travels, the Moline School Board member did not miss any of the school board’s twice-monthly meetings.

Kopel, 68, relishes the big question of why he made visiting state fairs in all 50 states his personal mission.

The answer is: because he could. He had the time and the inclination.

Growing up on a farm near Marshalltown, Iowa, Kopel raised and showed Chester White swine at his first Iowa state fair at age 10 in Des Moines. He’s loved state fairs ever since, even as they’ve grown more commercial.

There’s an old saying, he says, that you can take the kid off the farm but you can’t take the farm out of the kid. “That’s me.”

He and his wife, Harlene, traveled to state fairs in their RV after retiring, and visited 10 before her death. “After she died, it became an obsession, partly to honor her,” he said.

Kopel visited the remaining 40 by airplane and rental car, with a global positioning system to guide him from airport to hotel to fairgrounds and back again.

His best experience was at the Fryeburg Fair in Maine, which drew exhibitors from Maine and New Hampshire. “It was one of the cutest state fairs you’ve ever seen.” he said.

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