November 2009 in Review

Well November is the month when things begin to slow down as far as events but it is also the month where things really heat up booking wise for 2010. And November did heat up literally here in the Northeast as temperatures all November were above normal and overall warmer than the month of October (last month).

We began November with an appearance by magician Matt Roberts at the West Warwick Flea Market on Sunday the first.

Gordon took a ride into Providence to meet with Pat Butler who is from Northern California and works with musicians. Pat was in Providence as the tour manager for the bands Sledd with Tesla who was performing at Lupos.

On Friday the 6th we headed over to the Courtyard in Marlboro for the set up and opening of the Massachusetts Agricultural Fair Association (MAFA) annual meeting and trade show. Gordon is on the Board of Directors as the representative for the Associate Members (which include talent agents, talent, buyers agents, sound companies, midway operators, etc). We brought over a couple of donations for the gift bags, chips from Cape Cod Potato Chips, and CD samplers from our marketing division MacKay Marketing.

On Saturday the 7th was the annual trade show for MAFA and Gordon also moderated the panel "Entertainment Contacts" where he, Diana Ammon of Atlantic Music Productions, and Rich of Sounds by Rich were all guest speakers. The tradeshow was busy as it usually is when it is held in the middle of the state since it is so accessible for the fairs from across the state. It was nice to see there the great people from the Spencer Fair, the Dennis and Charlene O'Brien, Allan and Priscilla Walker, Ann and Dave Whigham as well as Heather and Pam. We also saw the committee from Yankee Doodle Days, the Topsfield Fair, the Big E, Chuck Felix from the Adams Fair, the Martha's Vineyard Fair, the Marshfield Fair, the Cummington Fair, Bruce Shallcross from the Three County fair, the McCarthy's from Barnstable County Fair and I hope I didn't forget anyone.

We had a nice lunch over at the 99 Restaurant with Harold Fera of Rockwell Amusements and Diana Ammon of Atlantic Music Productions. After lunch the Breeders Cup races were on television and the lounge at the Marriot was kind enough to give us the remote control so we didn't miss a beat. Of particular interest was the Breeders Cup Juvenile where Dogwood Stables had Aikenite entered (alas it wasn't his day) and who wasn't tuned in for the Classic where the great filly Zenyatta ran what may have been the race of her life against the boys to become the only filly in history to win this great race. We enjoyed watching many of the races with Carlton Chandler of the Marshfield Fair, a racing fan himself, whose fair had live racing for many years, where I myself saw my first live horse race as a child. Oh yeah did I mention there was a trade show going on between races (of course).

David Garrity performed at the West Warwick Flea Market on Sunday the 8th. We had a lot of unpacking of the trade show materials and packages to send out.

On the 14th Gordon braved the elements to pay a visit to the lovely island of Martha's Vineyard for a consultation with the local fair committee. The island is only accessible by ferry or airplane. And on Sunday Chuckles the Kids Comic performed at the West Warwick Flea Market.

Gordon headed out to the Massachusetts State House on Monday the 16th to testify at a hearing on proposed legislation to ban the use of the ankus in the trade of elephant handling. This would included all elephants in or visiting the state at zoos, education shows and circuses. Also some handlers do not use an ankus, however, it is the prescribed tool by the USDA and has been time tested for over a 1,000 years of man working with elephants. This is nothing more than a petty attempt by animal rights activists and armchair animal experts to stop elephants from coming to Massachusetts. Members of the afore mentioned MAFA were there including Cummington, North Adams, Spencer, Heath and the Big E, as well as circus fans, Bob Commerford of Commerford and Sons Zoos and representatives of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The reason the activists are using to attempt to ban the ankus is that they say it can be used as a weapon, and as history has proven so can a baseball bat, a tire iron, a frozen turkey, a car, and most recently a golf club. Where would we stop at banning items which can be misused as weapons, really?!

On Sunday the 29th Maximum Velocity joined Ty Pennington and the crew of ABC's Extreme Home Makeover to make a families dream come true. They set up their ramps and performed jumps inside and outside of the home about to be demolished in New Hampshire using both BMX bikes as well a motorcross bikes. The young boy in the family they were helping was a huge fan of extreme sports.

On Sunday night Gordon left for the IAFE tradeshow in Las Vegas. The tradeshow opened on Monday night the 30th, where he worked with Giovanni Anastasini and had several meeting set for the next few days. He had the opportunity to see the Sandloffers of the Great American Frontier Show, Paul Shoeber of Erie County Fair, Bill and Lotta Carpenter from the Midway Caravan and Wayne McCary and Greg Chieko of the Big E to name a few.

More excitement to come in the December review. To be continued . . .