July 2011 in Review

July is the single busiest month of the year for us.

On July1st we had the opening of 2 major events for us. . . Subfest in Groton, CT as well as the St. Joseph's County 4H Fair in South Bend, IN.

At Subfest the Naval Sub Base on the banks of the Thames River opens it gates to the public for its annual event celebrating the 4th of July. This years Subfest entertainers included a return of Bwana Jim's Wildlife Show (now in his 4th or 5th straight year a

t this event), Franzen's Elephants & Tigers and the Flying Pages aerial thrill show. Animals are always a huge hit at this event as they are at most events and tiger shows continue to draw the public in the gates.

Out in South Bend the Hot Dog Pig Races made its first

ever appearance at the St. Joesph's County 4-H Fair. Pig racing is a favorite at all kinds of events from fairs to BBQ festivals and the Hot Dog Pig Races offers up to 5 shows per day with a finale of racing Hot Dogs. Actually miniature Dachshunds dressed in buns and condiments, but it always gets a huge reaction from the crowd. I don't know what it is about pig racing but audiences gather at least 6 to 10 deep or more to catch a glimpse of this hilarious spectacle. They performed at the fair until the 9th.

On Saturday the 2nd until Monday the 4th Alexanderiathe Great performed her Houdini style escape show at the Houlton Fair in Houlton, Maine. Houlton is the last exit on I-95 before you get to the Canadian border, I also like to call it the outer most reaches of our Solar System since if you travel to Maine to see the amazing model of the solar system along route 1 you will find Pluto at the visitors center in Houlton. The models follow route 1 all the way into Presque Isle. Alexanderia found a new fan base up in Aroostook County many of who m now follow her on Facebook.

On Sunday North American Amusements brought their family rides to the Stoughton Night Before 4th Celebration. This traditional event attracts locals who its seems come together as a community for this one night a year bring their blankets & coolers to enjoy the rides, music and fireworks.

In addition to the event we had over the July 4th weekend we were busy with last minute arrangements for a daredevil stunt FIVE YEARS in the making. The Human Home Run at the Lowell Spinners. On July 5th the big event was finally to take place. The stadium was sold out and media surrounding the field as if it was the bottom of the 9th in the World Series! David Smith Sr. was shot 165' over the center right field wall to the delight of the baseball fans. Immediately the Boston Red Sox TV coverage picked up the happening on their broadcast and by the 11pm news all the Boston media was buzzing. By the early hours of the morning ESPN Sports Center did a feature on their broadcast and the next day the Human Home Run was

one of the lead stories on Yahoo News! The coverage was picked up nationwide and David Smith's daughter even saw media coverage in Europe!

On the weekend of the 8th, 9th & 10th we brought the Hu

man Cannonball David Smith to the Whaling City Festival in New Bedford to do a victory lap of cannonball performances so to speak. New Bedford is the largest fishing port in the country and we were blessed to meet the crew of the tug the "McAllister Sisters" who came out to see the show and invited us back for a tour of their vessel in New Bedford Harbor. It was awesome to see a real working tug boat and our 8-year old had an amazing time with the Captain taking the ship out for a spin in the Harbor. Thanks to the crew for the tour and for all you do!

The 10th also saw the closing of the Anastasini Circus at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta. They had a run there that lasted over a month and enjoyed every minute of working with this family friendly theme park. It was a pleasure working with the staff

once again!

On July 14th the McIntyre Family Circus opened a 10 day stand at the Nanuet Mall with Dreamland Amusements performing aerials, unicycle and high wire!

Saturday the 16th was the opening of the Barnstable County Fair on Cape Cod which is open for a full week plus a day from Saturday to Saturday. This year we had the "Enchanted Wa

gon" for the run of the fair. The "Enchanted Wagon" is a kid magnet and I can easily say there is no other strolling entertainment

quite like it, it is completely original and unique. The wagon is operated by a puppeteer and guided by an enchanted faerie. The wagon is like something out of a childhood adventure book with a sea turtle carrying a magical house on his back. It is driven by an owl and their are windows that the children can open to see magical creatures like a sea dragon come to life. It is hands on for the kids which is so rare these days of do not touch. The wagon also blows bubbles and sprinkles magic faerie dust as it goes along its merry way. If your at an event with the "Enchanted Wagon" and you want to see it for your self just look for the crowd of happy laughing children and their you will find it right in the middle.

Wednesday to Saturday Lucky Bob made his appearance at the fair for the 3rd year in a row. The Lucky Bob Show is filled with comedy, magic, juggling and a little rola bola for good measure. I have noticed once a fair books Lucky Bob they repeat him year after year, which is easy to do with such a talented performer who keeps his show funny, fresh, exciting and family friendly.

On Friday the 22nd the South County Balloon Festival opened on the grounds of the University of Rhode Island. The entertainment line up this year featured the Flying Pages with flying trapeze, juggling and aerials. They also had the all new "Flying Pig Races" from the producer of the Hot Dog Pig Races. The Flying Pig Races is also a traditional pig racing show with a final heat of "Flying Pigs" that is pigs who run up a ramp, jump into the fair, splash down into a pool, swimming across to the other side, up a ramp and back out onto the track, refreshed and ready for the final homestretch to the treats waiting to reward them for their efforts. It was the buzz of the festival this year!

July Saturday the 23 rd we took a day out to support a worthy non-profit organization benefiting retired thoroughbred

racehorses, Old Friends Equine Retirement. We spent a day at the beautiful Saratoga Race Track enjoying the races and witnessing

the Coaching Club of America Oaks featuring the five best 3 year old fillies in the country including Joyous Victory, Plum Pretty and Its Tricky. Its Tricky and Plum Pretty put on one heck of a show in the stretch and Its Tricky came out on top. The race was televised by NBC and was seen by over 1.2 million viewers. After the races we headed over to the Washington Inn to the cocktail party hosted by Michael Blowen and his wife Diane White benefiting their local Cabin Creek division. Also in attendance were Hall of Fame Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. and New York legend and former jockey of Funnycide Richard Migliore. There were lots of silent auction items of racing memorabilia and a great time was had by all.

The last weekend of July came all too quickly!

On the 29th we had two events open: the Quick Chek NJ Festival of Ballooning and the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, Maine. At the Quick Chek NJ Festival of Ballooning we

had the "Cannon Lady" Jennifer Smith doing her amazing Human Cannonball. Everyone within 100 miles knew the Cannon Lady was going to be their there were no less than 10 feature articles written on her by the local media. While she was traveling to the event she stopped at Devil's Tower in Wyoming and someone stopped her and said "I know who you are, your the Cannon Lady, I'm from Readington, NJ and you are all over the news!".

Lucky Bob began his first ever run at the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle, and if you live up that way or are visiting the area you can catch him at the fair until August 6th.

So what have we learned this month everyone? To entertain your audience and keep 'em on the grounds, pig racing is what you need. Needs something this kids will love and help create memories they will cherish, you must have the "Enchanted Wagon". And if you want the media to cover your event and bring you media attention that has the power to reach millions . . . none other than a human cannonball!

July 2010 in Review

A very busy July, lots of travel, and tons of heat and humidity! As always July began with a bang with one of the busiest entertainment weekends of the year here in the United States, the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

We began July on the road traveling to Houlton, Maine through one of the most picturesque parts of I-95. Houlton is just about as far as you go before I95 ends at the Canadian border. Its fair time in northern Maine and we paid a visit to the Houlton Fair and fair president Paul Cleary. We had a couple of shows returning to Houlton, Kachunga and the Alligator came to Houlton for the 3rd time in 6 years, this time bringing with the the ultimate in rare reptiles, an albino alligator born in Louisiana and one of less than 50 known in the world. All albino alligators live in captivity since their life expectancy in the wild is less than 24 hours due to predators and the fact that they have zero sun protection, exposure to the sun would cause a quick death.

Also returning to Houlton was Maximum Velocity, an action sports show featuring BMX riders and a flatland skateboarder. This year Maximum Velocity performed outdoors in front of the Civic Center. Maximum Velocity is a very popular attraction with young people who really enjoy the high flying, acrobatic BMX stunts and their parents enjoy the message of safety and safety equipment.

On Saturday we spent most of the day just south of Boston in the town of Stoughton, Massachusetts were we had two events in the same day celebrating the July 4th holiday. First was Kids Day run by Janet Jasmin formally Janet Salvaggi whom I graduated high school with in an undisclosed year. Kids Day is for the local children and there were lots of activities for the children including the music of the Bravo Bros. who also performed for the committee in 2009, Chuckwagon Mac Tales of the Old West, and Boris Koski who supplied balloon twisting, face painting artistry and a little Velociped riding to start of the bicycle parade. Later that evening Chuckwagon Mac stayed on for the fireworks celebration, after all what is more American than cowboys on the 4th of July. North American Amusements also supplied a midway at the event for the second year.
Sunday it was off to Groton, Connecticut to the U.S. Navy Base for Subfest 2010. Rockwell Amusements again supplied the midway with lots of rides for the whole family. Returning for an unprecedented fourth year was Bwana Jim's Wildlife show. Two all new shows for Subfest 2010 was Vicenta Pages and her Royal White Bengal Tigers and the Old Tyme Lumberjack Show.

Overall the entire east coast was in the midst of a heat wave over the weekend from Maine to Georgia where the Anastasini's finished up their run at Wild Adventure's Theme Park in Valdosta. The heat was an overall factor in the attendance figures at so many events once that mercury rises & the humidity becomes oppressive we find the attendance is similar to that of a day filled with rain.

On July 16th we opened up the South County Balloon Festival at the campus of the University of Rhode Island for the Wakefield Rotary Club. Two shows at this popular event this year, returning for a second year was Taylor Michael's Magically Medieval and his lovely assistant and wife Vicky. All new for 2010 it was the High Flying Pages trapeze family whose aerial artistry is a nice compliment for this type of event and audience. George Gritzbach, blues artist and Becky Chase, Americana provided an afternoon and early evening of music on Saturday night.


On Saturday the 17th after the festivities of the balloon festival we made a trek up to Boston's Hatch Shell for a show with Eddie Money who after a long flight delay in Chicago made it to the show by the hair of his chinny chin chin, as did we coming from the furthest reaches in Rhode Island. The audience was just tremendous, overfilling the famed Esplanade for this show presented by Oldies 103.3 Boston.

July 17th was the opening of the Barnstable County Fair. For the opening weekend we had strolling artist Brad Bodary with his Bronze Cowboy, Living Mannequin and other popular characters. Returning to the food court stage this year was the prop comedy of Lucky Bob who can really draw in and keep an audience. On Thursday evening George Gritzbach graced the food court stage on what turned out to be a record attendance night at the fair.

The weekend arrived with another tremendous blast of heat and humidity on the east coast as the Flying Pages trapeze act traveled to their second weekend at a hot air balloon festival. This time they appeared at the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning at the Solberg Airport. This is the largest hot air balloon festival outside of New Mexico and probably the most unique of any festival we have attended. The highlight of the event is always the sunrise and sunset launch of more than 125 hot air balloon but they also offer a large music stage with national acts as well as some variety entertainment to pass the hours between the launches. Their is a vendor and food concession area that compares to no other event, and they continue to amazing me with some what can only be called one of a kind offerings, that you won't see at any other event. The Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning can certainly be considered a destination and is certainly worthy of your vacation or leisure time! Bring comfortable walking shoes as this event takes up the entire airport, leave your heels and flip flops at home!


We had some devastating news on Wednesday the 28th, Dondi the beloved Asian elephant belonging to the Schacht family passed away after a brief illness at Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts. She had appeared at many festivals, fairs, amusement parks, zoos, church events, some circuses and Renaissance Faires over the years that were all too brief.
The Schacht family dedicated the last 35 years to her care after she was taken as a calf from a lumber camp in Thailand. For those of you unfamiliar with the teak camps in Southeast Asian they can be hell for elephants and humans alike feeding the need for teak furniture, lumber, boat decking, etc. Elephants are used to knock down trees with their heads, carry the lumber miles through hot, humid, infested jungles to rivers, over and over again. They are used because these places do not have the machinery to pull off this type of labor. Elephants and humans die young and baby elephants are either taken from their mothers or killed if the lumber business owners feel the babies are taking away from their mothers work in the forest. Their is no regard for life of either the human laborers or the endangered Asian elephant.
Dondi was bonded to Phil, Francine, Joshua, & Ashley although Dondi had been introduced to her own kind she had little interest. Her human family and later on a couple a miniature horses is what she desired for companionship. Please keep the Schacht Family in your prayers their loss is devastating, they have lost not only their beloved elephant, but their way of life and also their co-worker, Dondi. They will be in our thoughts and prayers as they start over in life.

On the 29th of July the Tigers of Adam Burck opened at WestFair in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Adam and his wife Elaine have a nice mix of Royal Bengal Tigers, three golden tigers and three white tigers. They perform a great show educating the public on the natural abilities of tigers and bringing attention to the few remaining tigers left in the wild. Elaine tells me they really enjoyed their time at WestFair and they were well received by the fair goers.

Friday the 30th was opening day at the Northern Maine Fair in Presque Isle up in the crown of Maine. If you ever had a Maine potato chances are it came by way of Presque Isle a lovely farming community and only of the only cities in far northern Maine. The fair committee is dedicated to bringing first quality entertainment to the people who live in Aroostook county especially animal shows. This year we had Vicenta Pages and her White Bengal tigers perform at the fair this was Vicenta's second visit ever to Presque Isle she also visited with the Shrine Circus.

Although July was busy it passed far too quickly but we are now into August and enjoying our time visiting on the road.

Until our August review . . . we will see you all down the road!

July 2009 Recap

July started out with a bang as it usually does with all the fantastic July 4th events! Best yet the July 4th weekend was the first weekend of the summer season that was without rain! Subfest at the Groton Naval Submarine base was well attended and as always the animal acts were a huge hit. This year the Rosaire's Bears were the hit of the event and crowds were pleased to see that the Bwana Jim Wildlife Show returned for the third year in a row. Bwana Jim and his wife Linda always do a great job making sure they have something new each year for the many events that have them as an annual part of their event. This year they added birds of prey to their show with an owl, a Red Tail Hawk and a Turkey Vulture. I have to admit I have never been a fan of vultures but this one totally changed my opinion of vultures, he sat so calmly and preened his feathers just as nicely as my own pet parrot. Also new to Subfest this year was the Anastasini Family Circus with their fabulous aerial rocket fantasy act as well as Magically Medieval who as been one of my most popular acts this year.

We had a brand new Fourth of July event this year in Stoughton which we were able to bring in rides from North American Amusements on July 3rd for the fireworks portion of the event which was generously sponsored by IKEA. On Saturday the Fourth the event had a Children's Day event in which we brought in Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix as well as Chuckles the Kids Comic. Johnny went over extremely well and was invited back to perform again in 2010. Chuckles had huge lines for his balloon twisting, he also road his Velociped as Uncle Sam, face painted and did some magic tricks, he is truly a one man festival just by himself.

The Whaling City Festival in New Bedford was the second weekend in July were we had dozens of bands on two stages over the weekend. The festival was surprised by two of the best drawing bands were styles of music that they had never before featured, True Witness a Christian Rock family act as well as Buck T. Edwards which was Country. All the artists were very talented and probably the best line up the festival has had. Also appearing at the Whaling City Festival was Magically Medieval which continued to draw a nice family audience. The biggest struggle for the Whaling City Festival this year was the economy, the festival has no admission charge and depends on sponsors to pay for a large portion of the event. The event typically draws between 130,000 to 175,000 people which is just want sponsors are looking for, however sponsorship has really dried up for most events this year. Such a shame for a great event whose goal is to raise money for scholarships for students in New Bedford which is an inner city area.

My brother Jeffrey decided to get married in the height of our busy season (July 12th) which caused us to miss the final day of the Whaling City Festival as well as the Great South Bay Music Festival on Long Island in New York. We booked Eddie Money to play July 12th at the festival, we hated to miss the event but Gordon, myself and our son Justin were all in the wedding party so it couldn't be helped. Gordon also attended Kieran Ridge's wedding prior to Jeffrey's. The Great South Bay Music Festival is in Patchogue, New York and this year was their third year. We heard Eddie was well received and drew great crowds (as always).

July 17th saw two more events open, Barnstable County Fair who booked in Lucky Bob for the run of the fair as well as Eddie Money on July18th. The South County Balloon Festival sponsored by the Wakefield Rotary Club was also this third weekend of July, returning to this hot air balloon event was the Flying Wallenda's and new to the event was Magically Medieval! Magically Medieval's popularity is probably due to the fact that it is brand new, priced right and includes its own stage, sound and lights, big pluses for any type of event. Believe it or not they have never played a Renaissance Faire although it is certainly appropriate for one. Magically Medieval just seems to go over well at any event.

July 24 to the 26th was the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning where we had the Flying Wallenda's perform their famous high wire routine. Aerial acts really seam to go over really well at balloon festivals, they really fit the "up in the air" theme.

Close Encounters of the Exotic Kind (Tigers and Lions) opened up this week for a return engagement at the Bushkill Volunteer Fire Department's Carnival fundraiser. Vince and Pom Pom are really wonderful at what they do, their show is part education and part entertainment and always well received. Big cat acts are a major part of our business, Close Encounters is typically booked solid a testament to the wonderful job they do!

And finally, last but not least the Northern Maine Fair opened today with the Rosaire Zoppe Chimps as the headline animal act of the fair. Best of luck on your opening day up in Presque Isle!

Wow, what a month!