A travelling funfair has many attractions, including adult or thrill rides, children's rides, and sideshows consisting of games of skill, strength, or luck.

A funfair or simply fair (e.g. "county fair", "state fair") is a small to medium sized traveling fair primarily composed of amusement rides. Larger fairs or the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts may be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is traditionally held. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1272x972, 466 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1272x972, 466 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. ... Most countries with a federal constitution are made up of a number of entities called states. ... Roundabouts (or carousels) are traditional attractions, often seen at fairs. ... 4 second exposure night photography . ...

In North America, a fair is sometimes called a carnival or exhibition, although in Europe and other parts of the world influenced by the Catholic church, a carnival is a procession usually held around Shrove Tuesday which is sometimes accompanied by a funfair. One strand of the medieval fair has diverged to become the agricultural show which often still has a funfair attached. Increasingly, funfairs are appearing as additional attractions alongside any large gatherings of people such as major sporting events,music festivals, and civic celebrations. North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... In the US, traveling carnivals are made up of amusement rides, food, games, and other things that comes to town. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... This article describes the festival season. ... Pancakes with strawberry syrup and black currants Shrove Tuesday is the term used in the United Kingdom,[1] Ireland,[2] and Australia[3] to refer to the day after Shrove Monday (or the more old fashioned Collop Monday) and before Ash Wednesday (the liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... An Agricultural Show or Livestock show is a judged event or display in which breeding stock is showcased. ... Civics is the science of comparative government and means of administering public trusts—the theory of governance as applied to state institutions. ...

Organization

In Great Britain and much of Europe, individual rides and stalls are run by different, independent showmen who all converge for the duration of the fair, then go their separate ways to set up at fairs in other towns, as well as their first position.

In the United States, regional companies own large and sometimes overburdening investments in rides and games. They book schedules of fairs with multiple units of machinery and staff on the road throughout a lengthy season that runs from mid-February through December, typically beginning in the southern U.S. and traveling north as summer approaches, then becoming active again in the south with the arrival of cooler fall weather. The relative costs and profitability of such long-distance operations are largely impacted by gasoline prices; when prices are unusually high, smaller operators often resort to spending long stretches in shopping-mall parking lots, drumming up what business they can as they wait to accumulate additional funds or for prices to fall.

Attractions

A fair contains a mixture of attractions which can be divided into the categories of adult or thrill rides, children's rides, sideshows and sidestalls. Originally a fair would also have had a significant number of market stalls, but today this is rare and most sidestalls only offer food or games. Elly del Sarto in c. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Many thrill rides, such as the paratrooper and the Matterhorn, include spinning people at high speed coupled with other accelerations.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1296x880, 324 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1296x880, 324 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... John Flacks Xenon lifting Paratrooper being dismantled at the end of the fair. ... Swailes Baileys Terminator Matterhorn at the Cambridge Midsomer fair. ...

Thrill rides

There is a core set of thrill rides which most funfairs have, including the enterprise, tilt-a-whirl, the gravitron, and the top spin. However there is constant innovation, with new variations on ways to spin and throw passengers around appearing in an effort to keep attracting customers. Nevertheless, with the requirement that all rides can be packed up into one or more trailers for traveling, there is a limit to the size of the rides, and funfairs struggle to compete with the much larger attractions such as roller coasters found in amusement parks. See also amusement rides. An Enterprise The enterprise is an amusement ride manufactured by HUSS Maschinenfabrik. ... Tilt-A-Whirl is one of the best-known flat rides, designed to induce a high-speed dizziness on its riders, and commonly found at amusement parks, fairs and carnivals. ... The Gravitron is an amusement ride which involves fast rotations around an axis creating centrifugal force. ... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Types of amusement rides include: Bumper cars Carousels Dark rides Ferris wheels Freefall towers Log flumes Loop-O-Plane Motion platforms Observation towers Octopus (ride) Roller coasters Scenic railways switchbacks Shoot-the-Chutes The Zipper See also Amusement park External link A list of amusement ride patents, with links to...

Roller coasters

Some fairs may feature compact roller coasters to attract teenagers and preteens. Roller coasters feature steep drops, sharp curves, and sometimes loops. Roller coasters are generally the most attractive aspect of a fair, but many people come for other reasons. Fairs usually only feature one or two coasters, in contrast to amusement parks. A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... “Young Men” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Children's rides

Funfairs are seen as family entertainment, and most include a significant number of children's rides designed for children from 2 – 10 years old. Many of these are smaller, slower versions of the adult rides, such as merry-go-rounds, teacup rides and ferris wheels. Such rides are usually referred to as "kiddie rides". Others are simple train rides, slides, mirror mazes and variations on the bouncy castle. A kiddie train ride For the film, see Train Ride. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into moonwalk (bounce house). ...

Sideshows

A barker luring a patron in to the Vermont state fair sideshow

In the 19th century, before the development of mechanical attractions, sideshows were the mainstay of most funfairs. Typical shows included menageries of wild animals, freak shows, wax works and theatrical shows. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 551 pixelsFull resolution (3000 × 2068 pixel, file size: 503 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 551 pixelsFull resolution (3000 × 2068 pixel, file size: 503 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... A barker is a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events, such as a carnival, by exhorting passing public, describing attractions of show and emphasizing variety, novelty, beauty, or some other feature believed to incite listeners to attend entertainment. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Menagerie is the term for a historical form of keeping wild and exotic animals in human captivity and therefore a predecessor of the modern zoological garden. ... For other uses of this word, see Freakshow (disambiguation). ... A wax museum or waxworks consists of a collection wax figures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ...

Up until the 1960s, boxing shows were a common feature of British fairs, but they went into decline when in 1947 the British Boxing Board of Control ruled out appearances of licensed members in fairground boxing booths. An echo of the boxing booth remains with boxing or punch ball machines being common around fairgrounds. The very last traveling boxing booth was still making annual visits to the Great Dorset Steam Fair until 2006. Unfortunately, the owner, Ronnie Taylor, died a few weeks before the 2006 show, and the future of this unique attraction is now uncertain. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... For other senses of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer (disambiguation). ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Boxing Board of Control is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. ... The Great Dorset Steam Fair is an annual show featuring steam powered vehicles and machinery. ...

After World War II, sideshows featuring burlesque and striptease performances also went in to decline, with the general relaxation of censorship legislation. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Photograph of Sally Rand, 1934. ... For other uses, see Striptease (disambiguation). ...

Sidestalls and games

A traditional coconut shy, established in 1936 by Mrs E. Harris, is still being run by her son today.

Most stalls feature games of skill or strength. The most traditional example being the coconut shy in which players throw balls at coconuts balanced on posts, winning the coconut if they manage to dislodge it. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x790, 495 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x790, 495 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... A traditional coconut shy run by Albert Harris. ... A traditional coconut shy run by Albert Harris. ... Binomial name L. For other uses, see Coconut (disambiguation). ...

Other sidestalls range from the trivially easy, such as hooking rubber ducks from a water trough in which nearly every player is expected to win a prize, to the deceptively challenging, which includes games which utilize optical illusions or physical relationships that are difficult to judge. In the United States, the funfair is one of the few arenas of public life in which classical hoodwinkery in the form of outright fraud can be perpetrated by the light of day. Highly profitable (and therefore timeless) games include: For other uses, see Rubber duck (disambiguation). ...

• the hoopla, in which a ring can be demonstrated to fit neatly around a wooden block, but when the customer attempts to throw the ring over the block, it is nearly impossible to achieve the perfect angle which the sideshow barker (attendant) deftly demonstrates.
• ball-in-the-basket games in which the basket is presented at an angle almost certain to bounce the ball out. (The basket bottom may also be suspiciously springy.)
• basketball-shooting games in which the basket is ovoid in shape and the basketball literally cannot fit inside the rim under any circumstances, but takes advantage of the oval shape an individual expects to see when directly confronted by a circle presented at an angle nearly parallel with the ground. (The sides of such a game are walled with netting which presumably keeps the ball in play, but the netting is then typically, and ironically, coated with the many prizes the customer hopes to win, but which block any possibility of viewing the basket from the side and thus exposing the hoax.) Sometimes the basketballs are also pumped up with air to their full capacity, thus allowing the ball to bounce off of the hoop more easily.
• archery, air rifles, and paint ball guns with sometimes misaligned sights, with targets ranging from bullseyes to playing cards.

Much of the true thievery has been driven out of funfairs in the twentieth century, and combined with an increasing emphasis on the role of families and small children in such entertainment, contemporary showmen often find greater profit in pricing their games far above the value of the prizes being offered, with complex formulae for upgrading to the large prizes that advertise the game and instill desire among those strolling by. The rises in pricing of many sidestalls must often reflect the overheads of running fairground equipment - the cost of swag (see below), diesel, staff and rents. Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... Two paintball players Paintball is a game whose participants use gas-powered markers to launch marble-sized pellets containing colored goo at each other. ... A bullseye on a dartboard. ... For the Russian group of artists, see Jack of Diamonds (artists). ...

Typical prizes change to reflect popular tastes. A traditional fairground prize used to be a goldfish in a small plastic bag, but these have fallen out of favor; partly because goldfish are no longer seen as exotic, but also because animal welfare concerns are frequently raised. Many stalls offer cuddly toys as prizes — many teenage romances are established at funfairs, where thrill rides provide ample excuse for embracing. Displays of skill at shooting and winning a cuddly toy for your girlfriend is a rite of passage for many young men. In showland, the prizes are known as swag and are supplied by a swagman. Trinomial name Carassius auratus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) For the baked snack crackers, please see Goldfish (snack). ... Animal welfare is the viewpoint that animals, especially those under human care, should not suffer unnecessarily, including where the animals are used for food, work, companionship, or research. ... Stuffed animals of ducks A stuffed animal of a bunny A stuffed animal describes a toy animal stuffed with straw, beans, cotton, and other similar materials. ...

Food booths

Food is routinely sold through food booths and the offerings range from common fast food items to indigenous street food, and may include specialty items or delicacies depending on the nature of the festival and availability of ingredients. Food booth vendors cooking sausages at University District Street Fair, University District, Seattle, Washington. ... Fast food is food prepared and served quickly at a fast-food restaurant or shop at low cost. ... A portable night-time Tex-Mex street-food stand outside the Helsinki railway station, Finland. ... A delicacy is a food that is particularly prized within a given culture. ...

A funfair generally includes:

• Pizza
• Hot dogs
• Hamburgers
• Fried chicken
• French fries
• Cotton candy
• Ice cream
• Soda

British Funfairs

In the United Kingdom, many larger towns host traveling fairs at specific times of the year (for example Mop Fairs). Frequently the fairground is on an area of common land and has a history extending back to the middle ages. Mop Fairs (also The Mop singular and Mops plural) are a feature of many English towns and are traditionally held on or around Michaelmas Day. ... Common land, or just common, is frequently used to describe a parcel of land, usually near the centre of towns and villages, which is thought to be owned in common by all the members of the community. ...

Robert Edwards, a seventh generation showman, running his Ring and Blocks stall.

Funfairs in England, Scotland and Wales are not the property of one owner, but a collaborative effort between families of fairground travelers. Descended from the medieval strollers and players, who have followed this way of life for generations, they have a distinct culture related to their trade and nomadic existence. The routes they travel are usually inherited and are much the same from year to year. The average fairground is made up when a Lessee (usually the owner of a large ride) sublets ground and pitches to other families who bring their own rides, stalls and shows to make up a fair. This involves much negotiation and bargaining over who gets to put their stalls and rides where, although in many well established fairs 'standing rights' are recognized and passed down through the generations. Once the fair is over, the families go their separate ways, but will cross each other's paths regularly. Their sense of community is strong and few 'marry out' of the trade. Showmen as they are known are proud of their heritage and have their own language, (a mixture of Romani, cant, backslang and Parlyaree, a lingua franca derivative of French, Italian and Pig-Latin) e.g. words such as flatty (meaning someone not from the showman community). Those showmen who don't travel with the fair still remain showman, being said just to be settled down. The community is clannish and a little insular, the received wisdom being that one cannot just become a showman, but must be born into it. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1016x1024, 298 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1016x1024, 298 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... Showman or Travelling Showmen are people who organise and run fairgrounds. ...

This by definition makes running fairgrounds a family business and as such family names are synonymous with fairgrounds in certain areas. E.g. Breeze, Fleming, Vanner, Hatwell, Atha, Danter, Marshalls, etc., in West Yorkshire. The Show/Fairground community is close knit, with multiple ties often existing between the older families and a vibrant social scene centered both around the summer fairs and the various sites and yards used as winter quarters. Hosting an estimated 80% of all Scottish showfamilies, Glasgow is believed to have the largest concentration of Showpeople in winter quarters in Europe, centered mostly in Whiteinch, Shettleston and Carntyne. However, new zoning laws and planning difficulties posed by Glasgow City Council look set to push many of these long-established facilities out of the city in the near future. This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Whiteinch is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... Shettleston is a suburb in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. ... Carntyne is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ...

Since the late nineteenth century, fairgrounds in the UK have been run by a guild known as the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and Ireland. This lays down laws for managing and running fairs, helps them organize fairs and settle member disputes and serves to protect them from deleterious legislation. Uniquely for an industrial body, membership is awarded on a hereditary basis. A new breed of showmen are now appearing. These people are usually fairground enthusiasts and can own preserved older rides. Although they travel and show their equipment, the Guild does allow them to join but only if they are proposed and seconded by two showmen. They are connected to the Show communities around Britain but only loosely. They, therefore, have their own organizations. A guild is an association of craftspeople in a particular trade. ...

Fairgrounds are very common at British seaside resorts, usually run by fairground families who have decided to settle down, in whole or part. Showmen who run fair equipment at the seaside are referred to as sand scratchers

An interesting annual attraction in the North Wales resort of Llandudno is the Victorian Extravaganza held over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. , This article is about the town in Wales. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

British sidestalls simply sell food and confectionery, with candy floss (cotton candy in North America) stalls being especially associated with funfairs. Sweets are known as fairings and include such things as brandy snap, Grantham ginger bread, toffee apples and at Nottingham Goose Fair, cocks on sticks. Of savory food, the mainstays are hot dogs, burgers and, in the Midland and the North, hot peas served with mint sauce. It has been suggested that Candy be merged into this article or section. ... Cotton Candy (also known as candy floss or fairy floss) is a form of spun sugar that is produced in a special machine and sold at fairs. ... The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling fair held in Nottingham, UK, during the first week of October. ... A large hot dog with ketchup A hot dog is classified as a type of sausage or, alternatively, a sandwich on a suitably shaped bun with the sausage and condiments on it. ...

Fairgrounds have sharply declined in popularity over the last few decades, although many families continue to follow their unusual lifestyle.

The largest British (and European) fairground is The Hoppings on Newcastle Town Moor, which is held annually in the last two weeks of June. The Hoppings is said to be Europes largest travelling fun fair and is held on Newcastle upon Tyne Town Moor during the last week in June. ...

German Funfairs

Düsseldorf parish fair, with a ferris wheel dominating the skyline.

Most things said about British funfairs apply to Germany, however, German funfairs are noted as being the most impressive in the world, with fairs and rides of a scale not seen elsewhere. Rides include roller coasters, dark rides and log flumes that often eclipse many theme park equivalents in terms of both size and quality. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2044x1536, 652 KB) Photographer: Rainer Driesen Date: 20. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2044x1536, 652 KB) Photographer: Rainer Driesen Date: 20. ... The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Duesseldorf. ... A Ferris wheel on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA. A Ferris wheel (or, more commonly in the UK, big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim. ... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... Meeting Tigger at the Dark ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. ... For the log-transport device of the same name, see Log flume. ...

The language of German showmen contains elements of Sintitikes, Rotwelsch, Yiddish and other old minority languages. Their children are almost always sent to a small set of showmen-friendly boarding schools where they can remain in contact with other showmen's children; during school holidays, they travel with their parents. In the west of the country, there is some overlap with Dutch showmen. A relatively small number of "showmen dynasties" run most of the medium- to large size amusement rides at funfairs around the country. There have been some allegations of forced marriages among them in recent years. Sinti or Sinte (Singular masc. ... Rotwelsch or Gaunersprache is a secret language, a cant or theives argot, spoken by covert groups primarily in Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... A boarding school is a usually fee-paying school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. ... Forced marriage is a term used in the Occident to describe traditional arranged marriages in which one or more of the parties (usually the woman) is married without his/her consent or against his/her will. ...

In Catholic areas of the country, it is still customary for most villages and small towns to hold their annual funfair on or near the saint's day of the patron saint of the local church. The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...

Very common are the so called "Volksfeste", which are mainly held in the larger cities. They consist of a funfair and a beer festival at the same place. The largest and best known of them is the Oktoberfest in Munich. Another famous "Volksfest" is the Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart. A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers (and often other alcoholic drinks) are available for tasting and purchase. ... Inside a typical Oktoberfest tent Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September and early October. ... , For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... This page is a mess, it needs translating properly. ... , City Center seen from Weinsteige Road Castle Solitude The 1956 TV Tower The Weissenhof Estate in 1927 Stuttgart (IPA: []) is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. ...

Canadian Funfairs (Exhibitions)

North America's (and the World's) largest, and one of longest running exhibitions is Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition, it takes place at Exhibition Place from late August to early September. Most carnival fairs are run by traveling companies that move town to town with their rides and exhibits. Conklin Shows is the largest and oldest organization of its type in North America. Early CNE midway sign A pair of CNE Magic Passes Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is an annual event held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Looking East from the CNE Ferris Wheel (National Trade Centre at left, Automotive Building at right). ... The Conklin Midway at Torontos Canadian National Exhibition. ...

Other notable fairs are: Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition and the Calgary Stampede. The current PNE logo. ... Rider at the Stampede Rodeo Statue at Stampede Grounds, with the Calgary Tower in the background Stampede grounds The Calgary Stampede, which bills itself as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, is a large, non-profit festival, exhibition, and rodeo held in Calgary, Alberta for 10 days in the second...

See also

• Amusement park
• Amusement ride
• Beer festival
• Canadian National Exhibition - One of the world's largest fairs
• Cannstatter Wasen
• Oktoberfest
• World's Fair

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 4 second exposure night photography . ... A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers (and often other alcoholic drinks) are available for tasting and purchase. ... Early CNE midway sign A pair of CNE Magic Passes Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is an annual event held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... This page is a mess, it needs translating properly. ... Inside a typical Oktoberfest tent Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September and early October. ... Worlds Fair is any of various large expositions held since the mid-19th century. ...

References

• Rides Database : Rides Database, the world's biggest funfair rides database.
• All the Fun of the Fair - history of UK funfairs and lists of current rides.
• www.fairground-rides.co.uk including a list and photographs of many UK funfair rides.
• British National Fairground Archive at Sheffield University

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Funfairs

Look up Funfair in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• www.showmensguild.com — Showmen's Guild of Great Britain (Yorkshire Section)
• Carl Barlow's FAIRGROUND MEMORIES whilst working for Anderton & Rowlands Funfair
• www.fairground-heritage.org.uk The Fairground Heritage Trust online.
• www.fairart.co.uk Michael Smith's British Fairground Art site
• West Yorkshire Funfairs Leading site for fairs in West Yorkshire
• A showmans blog A showmans story told from the inside.
• Newcastle Town Moor Hoppings Europe's largest travelling fairground is Newcastle's Town Moor Hoppings