A quick trip from the annual trade show; is a visit to the Tampa based, Florida State Fair. After entering the grounds...yes, we paid to get in....we headed directly to the midway where we met, John Hodge.
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 16, 2009 at 4:30pm —
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Independent showmen seem to be having a problem at the independent showmens association trade show.
Independent showmen seem to be having a problem at the independent showmens association trade show.
At least we are...and believe me, we are independent as anyone of our members can attest.
This year, Carny Town (formerly showmen.com and carnivalbiz.com) decided to make the trek South once again to attend and be present at the trade show that many in our industry, look forward to. Ou…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 14, 2009 at 2:00pm —
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The photo above is; Jesse Strunk of Charlotte Wholesales. Jesse has been showing his wares for about 7 years, mostly at trade shows and flea markets He represents Ralph Flack Novelties as you can see he is glad to be back at the annual trade show, where attendance is reported to be down bu…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 13, 2009 at 1:30pm —
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Bunkhouse salesman Brad Connor is pictured above. Brad works for Nelson LC. Manufacturing who have been building bunkhouses for 10 years. Brad, indicated, that this trade show is a little slow for them, so far.. The company manufactures commercially built units, with the special no throw a…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 13, 2009 at 1:30pm —
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President Obama and the new Congress expects us to all pitch together and make the economy better. Although warning of some hard times ahead, our leaders are optomistic that the business community will pitch together to continue to make our capitalistic economy better than ever.
Som…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 11, 2009 at 6:30pm —
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The first day is always the hardest for the exhibitors. Find your space and get moved around and finally you are there. Hurry, hurry, rush and then just like being in the Army....you wait. First time exhibitors as usual look a little anxious as they look around at the somewhat empty…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 10, 2009 at 7:30pm —
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And you think carnies are scammers! Ha.
As we zip through Georgia, we realize for a change we are right on schedule, even a little ahead, so we plan a short stop overnight at one of those "friendly" Rodeway Inns. Aha! $39 a night, blinking on that huge sign. They MUST want our business. The under friendly clerk points out that ALL the singles are sold and all he has are doubles at $59. Hmmm. Our luck, well, we have time...the clerk advises us that there is another Rodeway Inn just a few miles do…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 9, 2009 at 12:55pm —
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Off we go on a wing and a prayer. Well, at least one of us was praying, the other is trying to decide who to pray to....pretty logical.
First stop is Marcuses house to pick up some lighter clothing...lighter than the 50lb jacket he is wearing....it will be warmer than 10 degrees in Tampa, right? Then back to Kelly's since we all forgot to water the plants and put the cats out. (if we don't put the cats out they will get annoyed and shread everything in the house including the plasma tv).
One o…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on February 8, 2009 at 1:01pm —
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The greatest show in South Shore is coming to town.
The International Independent Showmen's Association will host its 28th annual Charity Circus on Saturday, with three performances at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Elephants, aerialists, clowns and more will perform under the Big Top at 6915 Riverview Drive.
Each two-hour show promises lots of excitement for the young and young at heart, said ringmaster Ward Hall.
"It's all about kids, and about helping organizations who help them," he said. "All of our perfo…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on January 7, 2009 at 11:46am —
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Yes, I did spell it right.
It's
state fair time again here in…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on August 21, 2008 at 8:00pm —
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In all the discussion of
John McCain's recently recovered memory of a religious epiphany in Vietnam, one thing has been missing. The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the various accounts. It involved sleep deprivation, the withholding of medical treatment, stress positions, long-time standing, and beating. Sound familiar?
According to the Bush administration's definition of…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on August 19, 2008 at 2:30pm —
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It has come to our attention that Drug Testing has taken another inroad on the Carnies. A concessionaire who is currently playing out with Strates Shows indicated to us, today, that, in fact, concessionaires (owners) who are booking on with Strates at the New York State Fair among others are required to take a test and provide the results to Strates. Sadly, the test IMHO is not a legal one since they allow folks to take th…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on August 18, 2008 at 12:07pm —
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Image via
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Added by Thomas Hoey on August 10, 2008 at 11:49am —
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By now you've probably heard about the brainless July 29 police assault on Cheye Calvo of Berwyn Heights, Md., and his family. First the cops plant marijuana on them, then storm the house, terrorize Calvo, his mother-in-law, and his wife, and shoot dead their two Labrador retrievers. Despite having apparently been investigating a pot-smuggling ring for some time, the cops didn't even know that Calvo is the community's mayo…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on August 9, 2008 at 12:16pm —
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A few convenient things have been added this week.
Anywheres you ordinary post you will be given a bunch of smilies to use. A feature often asked for. We are trying out lab cards at the bottom on the main page...try it, you might like the feature. Once you are signed in you will see the profile box on the right of the page has changed with options to "quick add" a blog post, discussion or other things, which is a convenient feature to speed your blogging and discussions, along. A few other "und…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on July 14, 2008 at 2:50pm —
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Marcus is at Seabreeze in Rochester this weekedn, camping out with his Daughter. He reports a major frustration with the prices. Just a little while ago he had to pay $4 for french fries and $3.50 for a hamburg. Along with paying high admission prices and gas at $4.29 a gallon, her…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on July 12, 2008 at 2:00pm —
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A carnival ride spinning with people collapsed at a county fair Friday night, injuring all 24 people aboard.
The carnival ride, called the Yo-Yo, collapsed shortly after 6 p.m. Friday at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, about 80 miles southeast of Sacramento.
The ride has metal arms, each with a seat at the end attached by a chain, that swing outward as the ride picks up speed. The arms rise and fall as they spin around a center pole, putting the seats horizontal to the grou…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on May 17, 2008 at 10:00am —
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Players open Simon comedy this weekend at CCC
"In the interests of complete honesty, I’m not a big Neil Simon fan. I do have to admit, however, that he is very
funny. And if you do like Simon, you’ll love the Auburn Players’ production of Laughter on the 23rd Floor, his
homage to both his youth and the Golden Age of television.
Sporting a veteran cast and sharp direction by Brian AllenJones, this production will definitely make you laugh.
Leading the way for those veterans are Ted Davenportan…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on April 10, 2008 at 8:59pm —
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It is amazing, the amount of crap that we get in our mail boxes every day, here at Carny Town.
The below message was received by us and as usual we took it with a grain of salt but since we are in the business of providing news to the industry, we checked it out.
Bottom line. It is crap and it is counter productive. When chain mails like this are so carefully crafted and go out to the business people in our industry, it can be downright dangerous for the business that is mentioned. This p…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on April 9, 2008 at 3:32pm —
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The Republican party’s quivers are essentially empty. Charging Democrats with "surrender" on Iraq? Voters want out, no matter what you call it. Scapegoating immigrants? Big flop. Claiming Democrats want to raise taxes? Yawn.
Only 19 percent of Americans are "satisfied ... with the way things are going in the United States at this time." A healthy 80 percent aren’t so delusional — and they’re hungry for a change from the Bush recession and failure in Iraq.
What I am having a problem dealing wit…
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Added by Thomas Hoey on March 20, 2008 at 12:46pm —
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