News

IISF TRADE SHOW KICKS OFF

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on February 11, 2009
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Background Check Seminar Conducted, New Products, and More!

By Ron Weber,MWC Editor

Sunny skies and warm temperatures graced the opening day of the Extravaganza and Trade Show on the IISF Club grounds in Gibsonton, FL. At 10 am the manufacturers and suppliers were ready for another year of business with many uncertain about the economy in 2009.

While the day got off to a slow start by mid-afternoon, a nice crowd began to stream through the aisleways. The MCW booth had many people stop by to say hello and sign up for our email list.

Lee Kolozy came by to report on his new venture, midwayads.com. Kolozy is a columnist for Side Show World and has been in the business all of his life. He saw a great need for the lost art of bill posting and decided to sink his time and resources into the new venture.

Lee Kolozy - Photo courtesy of Ron Weber

Lee Kolozy - Photo courtesy of Ron Weber

In 2008 he promoted circuses in Northern Indiana from May 1 through July 4th. He then worked for several carnivals in the south including Glen Geren in Jackson, TN.

The unique selling point of Kolozy’s business is his “showmobile”, a mobile printing center where he can make posters and coupons in the same day on the road. By printing in this manner Kolozy minimizes waste, only producing what is needed, resulting in a savings to the show owner.

“Anyone can get the paper out”, said Kolozy, “its getting the coupons back in that is the hard part”. He said good strategies like getting the coupons close to the register, having a good looking ad and the offer of a significant discount are all factors in the coupon’s return. Kolozy claims a return rate of 5%, well above the national average of 2%.

Getting the posters and coupons in retail stores takes entails spending time with the store owner and building a rapport so they will distribute the coupons and assist the event. “For every four locations I visit, only one will take the information”, he said.

Kolozy observed that in this tough economy, promotions becomes even more important as people are more and more frugal with their advertising dollars. “Show owners invest so much in equipment and trucks, they also need to invest in these invitations to come to their event”, he added.

Kolozy’s midwayads.com offers several packages for bill posting from simple to deluxe.

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See ‘Freak Show’ Exhibit At Carousel Museum

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on February 10, 2009
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KMBC-TV

Display Brings Back Carnival Sideshow Items

Watch the News Clip Here
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The days of the carnival sideshow are being brought back to life at the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum in Leavenworth.
The oddities that used to lure people into sideshows in the late 1800s through the 1950s, such as the two-headed creature, the mermaid and the sword swallower, are now on display.

“This is a freak show — things you don’t normally see anymore,” museum director Jerry Reinhardt told KMBC’s Maria Antonia. “If they were born today, they’d get medical attention to take care of deformities, but they had to exhibit themselves to the public.”

The display includes a two-headed duck and shrunken heads.

“There may have been some real ones, I don’t know that these are. Nobody knows for sure,” Reinhardt said.

It was the world of C. W. Parker, who was known for carousels and traveling carnivals.

The carnival exhibit opened a few days ago. For more information, visit firstcitymuseums.org/carousel.

Jefferson woman takes fun seriously by serving on state ride safety board

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on February 9, 2009
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By Michael Daigle • Daily Record

Lucy A. Murphy, of Jefferson, is in the business of fun.

Fun, like safety, she said, is serious business.

John Bell / Daily Record - Lucy Murphy, executive assistant at Zamperla, is a U.S. representative for an Italian amusement ride company and a member of the board of carnival amusement ride safety.

John Bell / Daily Record-Lucy Murphy, executive assistant at Zamperla, is a U.S. representative for an Italian amusement ride company and a member of the board of carnival amusement ride safety.

Her employer, Zamperla Inc., has been making roller coasters, amusement park rides and even those single-rider shopping mall rides for more than a century.

Zamperla rides are found in amusement parks operated by Disney, Six Flags Great Adventure, Universal Studios, Dorney Park in Allentown, Pa., and even are used by the ride operator at the Sussex County fair, she said.

But Murphy also is one of the people in New Jersey who oversees the industry as a member of the Advisory Board on Carnival Amusement Ride Safety.

That board is where the fun side of her career meets the safety side.

Murphy, along with Ernest Niles, of Montville, and Adam Wallach, of Madison, were recently nominated for reappointment by Gov. Jon Corzine. The nominations are subject to state Senate approval. Murphy has served on the board for about seven years, she said. The board meets five times a year.

Zamperla started as a circus operator in the 19th century and in the 20th century became a ride manufacturer. The Italian company has a reputation for quality rides, including roller coasters, Ferris wheels, pirate galleons and water flues, she said.

It is also known as an innovator of family-friendly “flat” rides that provide excitement but not the terror of the taller, faster roller coasters. At Dorney Park, Zamperla has installed the Dragon Coaster and Woodstock Express, for example.

Murphy said she finds herself perusing ride operations while visiting carnival and fairs. She said she looks for some basic things: Are there proper signs visible about the ride’s height requirements? Is the operator attentive and the ride property maintained?

Her job for Zamperla involves many of the same issues that come before the state ride safety board, she said. It is a detailed job that tracks documentation, deals with customer concerns, as well as safety and repairs. Prior to working for Zamperla, Murphy said she worked for Six Flags, when the company was part of Time-Warner Corp. and headquartered in Parsippany.

“We are selling fun,” Murphy said, but at the same time “safety is the prime goal, a safer experience.”

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IISF TRADE SHOW OPENS NEXT WEEK

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on February 6, 2009
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SUPER BOWL DELAYS SHOW ONE WEEK

By Ron Weber, MCW Editor

Gibsonton, FL – The International Independent Showmen’s Association is busy at work preparing for the 2009 Trade Show and Extravaganza. The show will be a week later this year, February 10 – 14 due to the Super Bowl’s visit to Tampa in 2009.

The club sees several benefits in the move. First, the event is after the conclusion of several fairs, including the South Florida Fair, so this will free up many people to visit the trade show. Second, the trade show will be the second week of the Florida State Fair which will give vendors, concessionaires and ride operators a chance to get settled in Tampa before coming to the trade show.

2009 posed several challenges for the IISF, chief among them a faltering economy. While the number of vendors will remain the same several are “cutting back on space because of the economy”, said incoming IISA President Steve Ianni.

Some vendors such as Wisdom Industries will be bringing new rides and attractions. Wisdom will be debuting their new Windsurfer ride along with Wade Show’s new Drag Strip Mega Slide. The ride which Frank Zaitshik, owner of Wade Show calls “breathtaking”, promises to be one of the highlights of the show.

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Family fun takes a lot of work

Posted by CarnivalMidways.Com on February 5, 2009
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By John Goodspeed – Express-News

Getting a fruit cup sample seems like a simple thing.

Walk up to a booth at the Family Fair during the 60th annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which opens today at the AT&T Center, and someone hands it to you with a smile.

But a lot of ingredients go into delivering that tasty treat. A sponsor may need 40 pallets of product to hand out. Deliveries, though, must be made when the grounds are closed to avoid endangering the crowds.

PHOTOS BY JERRY LARA/glara@express-news.net Larry Williamson unloads parts of the Genesis attraction at the carnival.

PHOTOS BY JERRY LARA/glara@express-news.net Larry Williamson unloads parts of the Genesis attraction at the carnival.


“So our volunteers take forklifts to get the stuff, drive a certain route and stage the pallets behind the scenes to keep the area behind the booths neat and tidy just so you can walk up and say, ‘I’ll have a fruit cup’ — and they’re handing them out all day,” exhibit director Ellen Andrus said.

That is just the tip of the funnel cake at the festival, which helped earn several awards in December, including best of show, from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. The honor came on the heels of the fourth-in-a-row large indoor rodeo of the year award from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

“Everybody won the IAFE award,” Andrus said. “Family Fair is a major component, but we are all slices of the pie.”

Hers, though, is a heaping serving.

Andrus coordinates activities with more than 1,000 people, including 600 commercial exhibitors, some 120 bands, the carnival, concessionaires and about 200 volunteers.

“There’s no way to do it without them,” she said of her share of almost 5,000 rodeo volunteers.

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