Carny Town - Traveling Carnivals, Fairs and Festivals

Let out your chickens! Here comes the Denver County Fair! - Denver Art - Show and Tell

​Maybe you've heard about it: The buzz has been slowly growing over time. But what exactly is this Denver County Fair people are clucking and waving around their feathers about? Well, that's not an easy question to answer, since chances are pretty good there's never been anything quite like it before, anywhere, and let it suffice to say, it's not, as the slogan goes, "your grandmother's county fair." At its root, it's really just a big, gushing, love-crazed, emphatic poem to the city of Denver: its trends, its land-locked cultural aura and most especially, its people -- the folks who toil to make this a special, if underappreciated, place.

Fair masterminds Dana Cain and Tracy Weil know we're an esoteric breed here and made no bones about tailoring their programming to make us happy. They also note that if you're going to enter your ten-pound tomato or that potato in the shape of Jesus Christ in a contest, now's the time to do it, before the July 18 cut-off date. So, forthwith -- a preview of all that's in store, a mere month from now at the National Western Complex, on July 28 through 31:

via blogs.westword.com

Fearless Flores Family winners on America's Got Talent

Motorcycle Madness in the "Globe of Death"
As seen on National TV on ESPN2 and "Extra"!

The Amazing Human Cannonball!

Heart-stopping Thrills 30 feet in the air on the Spacewheel!

A beautiful Lady Daredevil defies death 65-feet in the air on the Sensational Swaypole!

Blood-curdling Thrills 50-feet above the ground on the Motorcycle Raceway in the Sky!

via www.ffthrill.com

Napa County Fair kicks off Friday

Friday is a big day for Calistoga as it begins hosting literally the biggest party in the Napa Valley, the Napa County Fair.

After the fair opens at 4 p.m., the fun kicks up a notch when the first-ever Soroptimist International Art Preview Party begins at 6 p.m. The event is a collaborative outgrowth of the group’s Champagne Art Preview, a longtime tradition of previewing art submitted to the fair from all around the county that previously happened the night before the opening of the fair.

“This is a new event for the fair, and the price of admission to the art preview includes entry to the fair,” Soroptimist member Jay Villalta said recently.

That event will be held at the Tubbs Building and kick off at 6 p.m.

 

New things happening

In a return to Napa County’s agricultural roots, two new events are being offered this year. One, the antique tractor exhibit, actually kicked off last year, but this year has expanded to include tractors from all around the county, said Fair Manager Carlene Moore.

“We really wanted to focus on the farming roots of Napa County and this was an idea we first had last year that has really grown,” she said.

 

Butterflies are free

Another of the unique qualities of this year’s fair is the Butterfly Adventure, an exhibit that adds fun and a little education to the Napa County Fair experience.

The attraction offers people the ability to interact with live butterflies, according to the exhibit’s manager, Paul Noah from Hillsboro, Ore. Guests are shown how to safely pick up a butterfly without harming its fragile wings. 

“Visitors will also be able to feel butterflies landing on them,” Moore said. “It’s a really amazing feeling to be completely surrounded by butterflies, then learn about butterfly-friendly gardening.”

 

Other favorites

There will be lots of familiar faces, like food vendors Tom and Gina Pons, Chinese food vendors.

The Pons have been coming to Calistoga for 35 years.

“It’s as good a fair today as it was back then,” said Gina Pons, who leans from her window in a cowboy hat, smile beaming across the Fairway. Calistoga is the birthplace of the Pons’ specialty, the eggroll on a stick. 

The Pons family has been coming to the Napa County Fair probably longer than any other vendor, except David Gilchrist, who operates the Super Pups (hot dog) stand right across from Pons’ Chinese food.

“We feel like we’re a little bit like a family — but we’re also a little bit competitive,” said Tom Pons a couple of years ago. “People like to have something they can eat while they’re walking, so seeing that we’re right across from hot dogs on a stick, we decided to improvise and developed our egg roll on a stick.”

“It’s friendly, and competitive,” Pons said. “This is a fair we can come to and have a good time with the customers and make money, too. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

via napavalleyregister.com

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Zarkana’ at Radio City - Review - NYTimes.com

As has been the case at Cirque shows I’ve seen in the past, more than once I had to resist the urge to leap from my seat and holler, “Get down from there, you senseless girl!” The tingly suspense generated by the many feats of gravity-defying gymnastics draws on our instinctive fear that at any moment someone could end up splattered across the stage. (This uncomfortable pleasure is also, I suppose, among the reasons audiences remain hungry for the much-derided “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”)

Cirque du Soleil and its impresario, Guy Laliberté, belly-flopped without a net last year with their ill-fated production “Banana Shpeel,” in which the company attempted to forsake its trademark formula and create a more narrative-driven show with a vaudeville theme.  Cirque has returned to home territory with “Zarkana,” written and directed by François Girard, which is essentially a traditional company presentation outfitted in extra layers of lavish digital technology and lush, exotic art direction.

Careful attention to the song lyrics reveals a smidgen of storytelling: that top-hatted magician, called Zark and portrayed by the French-Canadian pop star Garou, is in love with a woman named Lia (the similarly single-named Cassiopée), who remains stubbornly elusive until the grand finale. (Perhaps she’s off having a very elaborate manicure?)

Also unusually, and I am tempted to add unfortunately, all the songs in “Zarkana” (written by Nick Littlemore) are performed in English instead of the usual fantasy Esperanto that’s been a Cirque trademark. But while the recipe has been tweaked here and there, this new production plays to the company’s core strengths: it’s basically a series of familiar, reliably exciting old-school circus acts embroidered in baroque, sometimes bewildering art direction. There is also, of course, the requisite pair of jabbering, mugging, whimsical clowns, as delightful or as tiresome as ever, depending on your age and your tastes. (One of them is shot from a cannon and careers around above the audience, brandishing what appeared to be a Spider-Man T-shirt.)

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for quite a few of the aah-inspiring feats performed by the company’s roster of 75 acrobats and performers of various nationalities. The young woman engaging in scary aerial feats on a moving balance beam held by two men was pretty staggering. The crack trapeze team conjured memories of big-top delights of my youth. The contortions performed by Anatoliy Zalevskiy, twisting himself into rubbery forms while standing on one hand, were ama

via theater.nytimes.com

State Fair: The show must go on

The show must go on.

That was the decision announced Wednesday regarding the 2011 North Dakota State Fair. The Fair is slated to run from July 22 through July 30.

State Fair manager Renae Korslien said while the fair will begin as scheduled, there will be some significant changes because of the Souris River flood, which left much of the fairgrounds under water. The State Fair Center and the grandstand were protected with dikes.

The grandstand schedule will remain the same, and the carnival portion of the fair will continue as planned. All indoor commercial exhibits will be housed in the State Fair Center, and there will be no competitive exhibits this year because of damage to other buildings on the fairgrounds.

Korlslien said there will likely be some who are critical of the decision to forge ahead with the fair so soon after the flood devastated parts of Minot and other nearby towns. But she said the State Fair Board felt a responsibility to the entire state and Minot to hold the event.

She's right.

There will be logistical problems with holding the fair, not the least of which is finding space for visitors to stay while in town. Hotel rooms are always at a premium during the event, a situation that will be excaserbated this year. But just because there will be some problems to overcome doesn't mean the fair should be canceled.

Quite the contrary, actually.

The city and its residents will be in recovery mode for years to come. But holding even a revamped version of the State Fair will send a message that at least a slice of normalcy has returned to the city. Organizers know that not everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy the fair, as thousands of residents will still be assessing the damage to their homes and businesses when the fair opens July 22.

But for some, the fair might provide at least a temporary respite from the overwhelming and devastating Souris River flood of 2011, even if it's just for a week, a day or an afternoon.

via www.minotdailynews.com

Ride that injured two reopens at fair - SignOnSanDiego.com

DEL MAR — A ride that injured two people at the San Diego County Fair on June 21 has reopened.

Tony Guadagno, the fair’s midway manager, said Wednesday that after several hours of testing each day by state inspectors, it was discovered that a computer glitch caused the Techno Power ride to somehow restart as people were exiting it.

Two components of the ride have been replaced, he said.

On June 21, a 16-year-old girl and male ride operator were knocked to the ground when the ride restarted. The girl had scrapes to her hips and knees, a state official said. She was airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital. The ride operator suffered a cut to his head and a concussion.

Guadagno said the girl was airlifted because paramedics felt it was more appropriate given the heavy traffic around the fair, and had less to do with the severity of her injury. She was released from the hospital the following day, Guadagno said.

The ride operator was hospitalized for two days before being released, Guadagno said.

On Wednesday, fairgoers lined up for Techno Power. The ride is intense. People sit two across, and the ride itself and the seats spin super fast. One teenager got sick after the ride Wednesday.

But others liked it. “You felt like you were flying,” said Kelsey Gasner, 15, of San Diego.

“My feet are still tingling,” said Samantha Scheet, 15, of San Diego.

Texas based Wood Entertainment Co. owns the ride, which has a clean safety record.

Techno Power has not been involved in any other incidents in California, said the state department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

via www.signonsandiego.com

OnMilwaukee.com Festival Guide: Dress for the fest: costumes are key for local festgoers

For most people, dressing up is something that, maybe, happens on Halloween. Others, however, enjoy temporary personal transformation during other events throughout the year, like festivals.

Michael Burnbach traveled to Ireland in 1999 and purchased a wool kilt with a blue tartan (plaid) pattern. He has worn the kilt to Irish Fest and the Scottish Highland Games in Milwaukee every year since.

Burnbach says he never imagined himself wearing a kilt, but he had such a great experience in Ireland that he likes keeping a piece of Irish culture alive.

via onmilwaukee.com

Workers scramble before opening of Marin County Fair - Marin Independent Journal

A rare late-June rainstorm didn't dampen enthusiasm at the Marin County fairgrounds this week as workers, volunteers and others poured in to prepare exhibits for the 2011 county jubilee that opens Thursday.

Officials said the unusual rainstorm might take the bloom off a rose display or two, and temporarily delayed installation of electric circuitry, but otherwise didn't faze hundreds of people who participated in setting up for the festivities.

"We've never had rain during the fair week, and I've been here since the '70s," said fair chief Jim Farley. "We'll be fine when we open at 11 a.m. Thursday" for a five-day run.

Aside from fears that the rain knocked petals off some rose exhibit entries just as flowers were groomed by home gardeners for delivery to the fair, horticulture exhibits appeared to be in full bloom Wednesday.

"Everybody is bringing in the best they can," said Romeo Abueg of Santa Rosa, a horticulture judge.

"The quality of flowers is very good," added Liz Vernon of Novato, former president of Ikebana International and a veteran fair volunteer. "There's a lot of artistic showmanship."

via www.marinij.com

DEL MAR: For carnies, a home away from home

Keith Nixon works a basketball game at the San Diego County Fair

via www.nctimes.com

2011 State Fair Menu: Maggot Melt Anyone? - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Every year there is new cuisine introduced at the California State Fair that offers up a challenge to those looking to eat the world's most bizarre food. But this year’s menu might be the most stomach-challenging yet.

Some of the delicacies that will be dished out at this year’s state fair include raccoon on a stick, a maggot melt, deep-fried scorpions and a maple bacon sundae for those who like to combine the sweet with the savory.

In a YouTube video posted to Foododdities.com, 11-year-old Remy, who eats odd foods from around the world, says raccoon tastes like pork.

“The meat is good, but the outer layer of fat is not. The outer layer is sour, and kind of weird," Remy says in the video.

As for the maggot melt, the ingredients are simple: deep-fried maggots on a bun with cheese.

“I am going to watch for a while. Yeah, I'm not sure about that one yet,” California State Fair General Manager Norb Bartosik told KCRA 3.

The 2011 California State Fair takes place July 14 to 31.

via www.kcra.com