February, March & April 2011 in Review

The amusement business begins to awaken as the snow melts. February sees an end to the live trade shows. Although trade shows have been dwindling in attendance and vendors for quite some time now, I believe its more of a process of natural business evolution and technology with a little bit of the slow economy thrown in. Unless trade show organizers can come up with a way to make these events more worthwhile & viable for all I believe we will see them disappear over the next several years.

Dreamland Amusements paid its annual visit to Kings Bay Village Plaza in St. Mary's Georgia in mid-March (March 16 to 20th). The weather was quite nice and seasonable and we were all hoping this trend woul

d continue throughout the spring.

In April we had three shows open on the East Coast. Power's Great American Midways played the Randolph Mall in Asheboro, NC April 15th to the 23rd as well as the Staunton Mall in Staunton, VA. Of course that was during the major tornado outbreak in the south, fortunate the bad weather went around the shows, as tornadoes for those who have never experience them are very isolated incidents, unless of course they hit your home. However we weren't spared by the heavy rains and thunderstorm. It was school vacation in Staunton and the carnival is always welcome by parents looking for affordable nearby entertainment for their children.

Up in Massachusetts, Rockwell Amusements played the Silver City Galleria in Taunton from April 14th to the 24th and about half of the days saw rain. This year we haven't seen nearly as much warm weather as last year and it has rained in some amount nearly every day.

Spring Carnivals are really popular with the malls, retailers always see an upswing in business at the mall often as much as 20% of the weekly sales over the previous. It is a win for the carnival because they are usually set up on pavement and grass is notoriously soft in the spring.

We are really hoping the weather improves and the rest of the spring and summer events will soon be in full swing!

April 2010 in Review

April is now behind us . . . back on April 8th we lost an amazing animal trainer. Derrick Rosaire passed away after a brief battle with cancer.  Derrick leaves behind two sons, a wife and a family of the best animal trainers in the business.  Our sincere condolences to the Rosaire family.

April is the month of spring break and all the events that welcome in the beginning of spring.  We had events throughout the east coast including Power's Great American Midways in Staunton, VA as well as Asheboro, NC.  We also had Rockwell Amusements close to home in Taunton, MA.  In typical April fashion the weather was both with us and against us.  We saw record high temperatures and record low temperatures all in the same week. Cabin fever prevailed on the warm sunny days as families shed their sweaters and sweatshirts and line up for the first pay one price wristbands for the season.

One of the most exciting events we have had this year occurred on April 17th.  Jade Kindar-Martin became the first high-wire artist to cross  the new Wembley Stadium on the high-wire 150' above the floor of the stadium and 500' across.  That type of extreme high-wire performance is known as a
sky-walk. It has been 35 years this year since Evel Knievel made his attempt at jumping thirteen buses at the original Wembley Stadium and that was not far from Jade mind as he made his preparation for this historic event.  This event was pre-match entertainment for the Saracens Rugby team and was sponsored by Domino's Pizza.  The match had record attendance not only for the Saracens, not only for a rugby match at Wembley but record attendance for a rugby match in general throughout the entire Guinness Premiership League.  Both the Saracens and Dominos were thrilled with all the media coverage of the event which was considered a huge success.  This is yet more proof that Jade's sky-walks are a proven draw for audiences.  This is the perfect event to sell through those extra seats in a stadium, to draw audiences to a festival or to bring media attention to a company or product.  Sky-walks are inspirational to audiences and show nothing is impossible! 

Coming this winter Accipiter Enterprises, birds of prey show will feature and all new opportunity for resorts, hotels, golf courses, etc.  The event is the Bird Strike Force, a bird of prey abatement/educational show.  This provide and educational and entertaining show to patrons and guests and at the same time encourage wintering birds to move along.  No birds will be harmed in the process but the mere presence of the owls, hawks and falcons is reason enough for the mobs of feathered friends to find a new hang out, providing a more relaxing atmosphere overall.  This show will be geared towards those resorts in the warmer climates where winter birds can become a nuisance and possibly even a health hazard.

A couple more RED HOT ROUTING SPECIALS to report!  The Magic of Lance Gifford and Company has July 12 to August 1st open for the Northeast.  Includes fabulous illusion show with magician, assistant and animals!  Lance has his own stage and will let the purchaser use the stage for other shows/presentations during the event such as music and awards presentations.  Lance also can include Granny's Racing Pigs as well as Karaoke if the purchaser is interested.

The second RED HOT ROUTING SPECIAL is a fantastic deal for any special event in the Midwest!  Maximum Velocity actions sports show is presenting their street course show on June 20th in Colorado Springs.  They need to route the show in and out with the starting and ending point being in New Hampshire.  If you are along the way we can bring you the show with NO MILEAGE FEE!  Maximum Velocity was recently featured on ABC's Extreme Home Makeover as well as New Hampshire's Chronicle.

As we enter into the outdoor event season I wish to remind all those planning to attend and event to keep a few things in mind.  One wear comfortable shoes, you will encounter all types of terrain at fairs and festivals, from paved walkways to grass, gravel and maybe even mud. You will also encounter crowds and stomping feet of all sizes.  It is not a good place for heels, flip flops, sandals, and alike.  Trade in your fashion sense for a good pair of sneakers!  You and your feet will thank me for this advice.

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 . . .