LUNA PARK (CONEY ISLAND) NEWS

Fun Forest ride will make a new splash on Coney Island
Miss the Wild River ride at the soon-to-be shuttered Fun Forest?

You can ride it again next time you're in New York.
Seattle's hometown water flume has found a new home on the legendary Coney Island.
You could say we should be flattered. Seattle's old classic will be the only used ride at Luna Park, a permanent carnival of 19 rides set to open May 29.
"We're big fans" of the ride, said Ramon Rosario, director of sales for ride manufacturing at Zamperla USA, which is building the $24 million Luna Park. "All of us like Seattle very much here."
In 2007, Seattle decided to shut down the Fun Forest after years of declining interest and revenue in the more than 40-year-old park. Its kiddie rides and indoor arcade are expected to stay open through Labor Day. Its big rides -- including Wild River -- closed down last year.
Zamperla purchased the water flume from Fun Forest in January. One of about a half-dozen Reverchon-brand flumes still operating in the country, it's sturdy and uniquely portable, Rosario said.
"We felt it was a good opportunity for us to pick something up that would meet our needs," Rosario said. "It's something that's becoming a trend in our industry -- taking something that's a an favorite and reconditioning it."
The ride got a 6-week scrub down in a factory in Colorado. Now it's arriving, in pieces, at Luna Park's Coney Island site.
Its "liner" -- a large sheet that lines the inside of the "splash" pool at the end of the ride -- came in about five minutes before I called him, Rosario said.
When the flume is assembled and ready to go (Luna Park crews have apparently been working nonstop for weeks), the flume will have a different light pattern than it had when it sat in front of the Experience Music Project at Seattle Center. But it may just keep its identity.
"I can't guarantee it, but we may keep the name Wild River," Rosario said.
P.S. -- Thanks to Tricia of Coney Island blog Amusing the Zillion for breaking the news and sharing the tip!
"We're thrilled that Fun Forest's Wild River has found a new home in Coney Island. Seattleites visiting New York City this summer are especially welcome to come to the new Luna Park and cool off on their flume!" Tricia wrote.

GEORGIA STATE FAIR AT MACON

KELLY-MILLER CIRCUS MAY 3, 2010, CLINTON, IN

FAIR FOCUSES ON QUALITY

Rides swirl in the deep twilight last year on the midway of the Mower County Fair.
Fair officials stay focused on quality

By Jason Schoonover

Austin, MN Daily Herald
Published Thursday, April 29, 2010
Despite losing funding from the county in 2010, the Mower County Fair Board is refusing to reduce quality.
Quantity, on the other hand, may not be as high as in other years.

Mower County Fair board member Ken Trom spoke to the Mower County Board of Commissioners Tuesday during the county board meeting to update them on this summer's fair.
"One thing we really refused to give in on is quality," Trom said.
The 2010 Mower County Fair is scheduled for Aug. 10 through Aug. 15. Like past years, Trom said the fair will still have free admission.
With the county struggling to balance the budget, all funding to the fair board was cut for this year. Despite the difficult economy, Trom said individuals are supporting the fair by seeking sponsorships.
"We are surviving, not much more than that," he said.
After fair season, Trom and the board are looking to keep the fairgrounds active.

Trom and the county board spoke highly of the Minnesota Junior Spring Classic livestock show, which was held April 17 and 18 at the fairgrounds.
"It's a class act," he said. "I wish we could get another dozen of them in town.”
In fact, Trom is trying to do just that. He said the fair board is partnering with the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Holiday Inn in an effort to attract more similar events. Together, they've been going through a book listing thousands of associations across Minnesota to attract certain ones to hold events at the fairgrounds.

FUNUNDRUM IN HARTFORD

The Circus Rolling Into Town

May 3, 2010

The Greatest Show on Earth is pulling its trains into Hartford this week.

As a weekend of FUNnundrum gets underway on Wednesday night.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents what it’s calling a super-sized spectacle at the XL Center in Hartford. This year’s show celebrating the 200 years since Phineas Taylor Barnum was born in Bethel, CT.

Here are a couple little trivia facts about the circus creator. Did you know P.T. Barnum served in the Connecticut state legislature in 1856 and 1873, first representing Fairfield then Bridgeport? He even served as mayor of Bridgeport in 1875.

Now back to the fun planned for the shows, 100,000 pounds of pachyderms will fill the arena, along with the clowns, and the high risers who bend and do gravity defying performances on a balance beam.

If that doesn’t excite you? How getting revved up as the motorcycles crisscross a cage and do amazing stunts. Plus you’ll see horses, llamas and lions. The world’s strongest man will lift more than 1,200 pounds.

The ringmaster for the shows in Hartford on May 5 through May 9 is Jonathan Lee Iverson, a University of Hartford Hartt School 1998 graduate. Tickets are still available.

THE "PIE CAR"

Michael Vaughn is head of dining at the Pie Car for the Ringling Bros circus, the place the performers eat. He feeds people from all over the world each day.

By Gail Ciampa

Journal Food Editor
When you hear “Pie Car” is the name of the dining car of the famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train, you wonder why, don’t you?
Is dessert all they serve? No.
Did the clowns stock up there for their pie-throwing acts? No. But that’s the most fun question.
Michael Vaughn, who is director of Food and Facility Service for the Ringling Bros. Blue Unit, which was in town last week and weekend, serves as the executive chef of the Pie Car, and he had another answer — and we’ll have to presume he knows.
“Meat Pies” he said. “Years ago the main thing was meat pies.”
It’s not hard to believe that performers and behind-the-scenes workers looked for the hearty all-in-one-meals of a savory pie to steel themselves for another day entertaining the crowds or packing up to move on to the next city.
Today’s Pie Car offers a wide array of food from around the world to satisfy the tastes of the circus’s global community.
While the circus’s Blue Unit was in Providence last week, I met chef Vaughn and dined in the Pie Car there in the world’s largest private train with hundreds of cars that stretch a mile-plus, by all accounts.
Vaughn not only appreciates that Ringling Bros. has given him the job of a lifetime but says he also thanks them for his wife Danette, whom he met there at the circus (she was a former featured vocalist), and their daughter Bree.
Here are five things you need to know about the Pie Car.
•It’s brand new and shiny. Vaughn said it was time to replace the car, which includes a kitchen and diner-style seating for about 25 people at a time. He filled out some specifications and got his dream dining car. It’s cozy and comfortable with cushy booth seats. It includes lots of hidden spaces (under seats, overhead) because, frankly, he has a lot of things and foods to store. Want any kind tea? Hop out of that seat and he’ll find a lovely box.
The kitchen is not unlike what you might see in a diner.
•Vaughn has to be prepared each day to feed the entire show. That’s 300 people, including performers and crew.
On the day of my visit, he didn’t expect many diners, because the train pulled in to Providence the night before and there were no performances. That usually means people go out to eat on their own, and those with kitchens in the train cars in which they live will cook for themselves.
All that changes on days when there are three performances. Then he has crowds coming and going all day. After nine performances in three days at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Vaughn had to restock with an entire semi-trailer truckload of food. In general, he gets two bulk deliveries a week.
In Providence, he ran over to Whole Foods at University Heights to pick up a few things for the Pie Car.
•There is a portable Pie Car Junior set up at each venue (in this case behind the Dunkin’ Donuts Center) to offer food on the go.
•Vaughn heads a team of six that includes positions not unlike those found in a restaurant. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and close a few hours between each. They charge what Vaughn considers minimally with costs subsidized by the ts around $3.50 and a meatloaf or moussaka dinner about $5.
•The menu is varied to feed not just a globally diverse population but one looking at calories differently as well.
There are the “circus fit” eaters, said Vaughn. They’ll watch what they eat, including counting carbs. Depending on the time of day and proximity of performance, they also want lighter fare. “Like, if they are flying,” he said. And he really means flying, with trapeze artists and trampoline performers in the circus.
Then there are the folks on the crew who have hearty appetites and want filling meals, he said.
No alcoholic beverages are served in the Pie Car.
Vaughn asks the performers what food they’d like to be served. If he can bring them home cooking that they want, he’s happy to do it. His menus are chock full of not just home-style favorites such as meatloaf, but also borscht (with the recipe coming from the wife of a Russian performer). On Sundays, there are eight entrée choices. “It would kill me to hear performers come in and say ‘It’s Tuesday, it must be spaghetti again.’ ”
gciampa@projo.com

From the Providence, RI Journal

DENNIS SHERMAN--WALKER BROS CIRCUS BAND

The rest of the band is in the computer!

REMEMBER WHEN?

Coke Seat Butcher

Back when it came in the small bottles!

TRIANGLE POSTER COMPANY--PITTSBURGH, PA

BANGOR MAINE SHRINE CIRCUS

Robinson Cortes (right) gets ready to catch his brother Alex Cortes (top left) after releasing fellow trapeze artist Gemma Kirby during their "passing leap" maneuver of the Flying Cortes Family's trapeze performance of Friday afternoon's Anah Shrine Circus show at Bangor Auditorium. The 47th Annual Anah Shrine Circus runs April 30, May 1 and May 2 in Bangor.

Sunday, May 2, 2010, By Dawn Gagnon BDN Staff

BANGOR, Maine — Though he's only 2 years old, Noah Bryden of Bangor already had made his second visit to the Anah Shrine Circus, which on Friday started its three-day run at the Bangor Auditorium.
Wide-eyed with wonder, the toddler excitedly pointed out some of the characters waiting to greet him.
“Clowns! Ernie! Bert!” he said. Also on hand were Donald Duck, Sylvester the Cat and many other figures familiar to children and grown-ups alike.
For Noah’s family, like many others in the area, a trip to the Anah Shrine Circus is a tradition.
“I used to go when I was a kid,” said Noah’s mom, Rebecca Babcock.
“He’s our first and only grandson, so he’s not spoiled, not one bit,” grandfather Larry Babcock said with a chuckle.
Proving you’re never too old — or too cool — for the circus, a trio of teenagers drove in from Belfast to take in the first of two shows set for Friday.
Devon Drake and Aspen Ventura, both 16, posed with a clown as a friend, 17-year-old Bradley Reed, snapped their pictures.
And that was just outside.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS
Veteran ringmaster Charles van Buskirk of Corning, NY introduced the performers during Friday afternoon's Anah Shrine Circus show at Bangor Auditorium.

“We’ve got a great circus planned this year,” circus director Charles Grindle of Verona Island said as the first of seven shows set for this weekend got under way.
Grindle said the 47th edition of the Anah Shrine Circus offers white tigers, a flying trapeze act, acrobatics, performing dogs and contortionists. It also features aerial ring performers, displays of grace and agility on the hula hoop and dozens of clowns. The finale is a patriotic salute involving the entire cast of circus performers.


BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY JOHN CLARKE RUSS
"Scooter", an Anah Shrine clown, high fives his new friend, five-year-old Ethan Mushero of Alton, ME before the start of Friday afternoon's Anah Shrine Circus at Bangor Auditorium.

Absent from this year’s lineup are elephants.
“Part of the reason is the high cost of getting them here,” Grindle said. The other reason is that traveling elephant shows are becoming increasingly rare, he said.
Remaining shows in Bangor will take place at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. today, and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday.
The circus then packs up and heads north to Presque Isle for shows at the Northern Maine Forum. Those shows are set for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 6; 7 p.m. Friday, May 7; and 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, May 8.
Tickets for both venues are $8 in advance, $10 at the door for adults; $4 in advance, $6 at the door for children.
Proceeds of the Anah Shrine Circus benefit Anah Temple

"COULD THIS BE YOU"

Could this be you?

"Cirque Dreams Illumination" has a slot open for a Portland performer.

Touring show "Cirque Dreams Illumination" holds Portland casting call

By Marty Hughley,

The Oregonian , April 30, 2010, 4:43PM

Could this be you? "Cirque Dreams Illumination" has a slot open for a Portland performer.
These days it seems that Portland is crawling – or perhaps that's twisting, twirling and/or leaping – with circus performers of various sorts. As described by The Oregonian's Kristi Turnquist in a recent A&E story, there's a thriving vaudeville/cabaret scene of clowns, jugglers, mimes, aerialists and practitioners of assorted uncategorizable disciplines (for lack of a better word).
So the producers of the touring stage extravaganza "Cirque Dreams Illuminations" may be in for more than they'd imagined Saturday at an open casting call for performers. Then again, there's a reason they audition is limited to "the first 100 dreamers in line."
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the lower level of Lloyd Center near the Nordstrom store, the show's creative team will evaluate "aspiring performers, acrobats, gymnasts, musicians, dancers, singers and anyone else with a special talent" and choosing one person for a featured role in the show's May 25-30 run at the Keller Auditorium as part of Broadway Across America.Read more at:http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2010/04/touring_show_cirque_dreams_ill.html

SUNDAY FUNNIES

FROM LARRY AT CIRCUS CITY MUSEUM---

From Hugo--
The Mayday Circus City Museum Fundraiser was a success.
Thank you God for guiding us with persistence, patience and understanding through the preparation and yesterday. Thank you God for blessing us with good weather. Thank you God for allowing us to gain enough donations to make our next payment.
A special thanks to the volunteers who made this a success: Marilyn & Janece for their many hours organizing and preparing our event; Jim & Dudley for their enthusiasm, time and support; B.K. and The Circus City Showmen's Club for their fresh ideas, help and support; and Thank you to everyone who helped with time or donations for our Mayday Fundraiser.
This is why we work on this project. Friends work together like a circus family, then God smiles on us too. That is success!
Yesterday was a circus (museum) day. May all your days be circus days.
Thank you very much. Larry

Fireworks illuminate the sky during the opening ceremony of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai on April 30, 2010.

Shanghai World Expo 2010 PHOTOS: Expo Opens After Epic Fireworks Show

Shanghai celebrated the opening of what is said to be the largest world expo in history Friday with an epic fireworks display that marked the city's return to the world stage.
As the AP noted, "the Expo marks an emphatic comeback as a major world city after decades of spartan industrialism following the 1949 communist revolution. Like the 2008 Olympics, the event is showcasing China's growing economic and geopolitical sway, both for the world and for its own public." As the New York Times wrote, Shanghai now envision itself "as a financial capital for the region, even the world."
Shanghai reportedly spent at least $44 billion to put on the massive expo, even more than was spent on the similarly spectacular 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is the first expo to be held in a developing country.

Performers wearing Shanghai World Expo mascot "haibao" costumes are seen on stage during the opening ceremony at the World Expo site in Shanghai, China.

Shanghai residents assemble outside the Expo Axis waiting for the firework performance during the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo on April 30, 2010 in Shanghai, China.

Illuminated balls float past the largest LED screen ever created during the opening ceremony of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai on April 30, 2010.

Shanghai residents assemble outside the Expo Axis waiting for the firework performance during the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo on April 30, 2010 in Shanghai, China.

A LOOK BACK---WHEN CITRUS WAS KING

A Look Back:
Saturday, May 1, 2010
By NITA HILTNERSpecial to The Press-Enterprise
For almost 100 years, the National Orange Show in San Bernardino has attracted throngs of people to celebrate the citrus industry in California.
It grew out of the Inland area's citrus industry, which got its start in 1857, when Anson Van Leuven brought six orange trees from the San Gabriel Valley to the San Bernardino Valley. In 1873, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent two Washington navel orange trees, the parent navel oranges, to Eliza Tibbets in Riverside.
Tibbets' oranges won awards for their superior quality and taste at many expositions. She sold buds from her stock, and by 1910, at least 100,000 acres in California were planted with her rootstock. The Santa Fe Railway shipped the boxed oranges across the country and sold its excess land to growers. Years later, locomotives created from oranges would be displayed at the National Orange Show.
The National Orange Show became known as California's Greatest Midwinter Event and gained a permanent site at Mill and E streets. One of the largest exposition buildings in the nation opened there in 1925. It burned down in 1949.
Steve Shaw, president of the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society, said there were rumors that the show grounds had been built atop an Indian burial ground, which was why the show was cursed with rain.
"I don't know, they do seem to get a lot of rain during the show," he said.
Show dates were moved back and forth between March and April to avoid the rain. It now is held in May.have been moved around to avoid rain -- from mid-March in 1940-57 to April from 1958-62, back to March 1962-70 and then back to April. Now the event is held in May.
It has taken place every year except four years during World War II. Attractions were added over the years, including concerts, horse racing and a carnival. In the 1960s, the height of its popularity, it drew more than 875,000 visitors.
The auditorium was destroyed by fire on Sept. 11, 1981, when a small plane crashed into it.
"In my opinion, it could have been easily rebuilt, but it was torn down," said Shaw, who was a firefighter who fought the blaze.
Today, the National Orange Show grounds host many events, including car shows, concerts, sporting events, a satellite wagering center, corporate parties, weddings and banquets.
This year's event, called A New Shade of Orange, is set for May 27-31. It will feature a carnival, petting zoo, circus, exhibitors, a juried art exhibition and entertainment. Adult tickets are $5 and children under 12 are free. The first day, admission, parking, games, rides and food will cost $1 each.
Shaw said attendance today has fallen significantly.
"People still go, but it doesn't have the appeal it used to," Shaw said.
Shaw will give a free talk about the show's history at 7 p.m. Thursdayat a meeting of the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society at 8th and D streets in San Bernardino.
For more information, National Orange Show Events Center, 689 S. E St., San Bernardino. Phone: 909-888-6788.

PICADILLY CIRCUS AT PEORIA, IL

PATRICK TRAYLOR/JOURNAL STAR

Marishka (Below), 11, and Cathalina, 14, Bloom of Lakeland, Fla. perform hanging from ropes during the Picadilly Circus on Saturday afternoon at the Expo Gardens in Peoria.
The Picadilly Circus performed on Saturday afternoon at the Expo Gardens in Peoria.
.....Circus brings smiles and delight to young and old alike
Last update May 01, 2010 @ 09:53 PM
PEORIA — Exotic animals, agile acrobats, tempting treats, crazy comedic clowns and featured feline feats: all expected attractions when the circus comes to town.
Saturday's experience was no exception, to the delight of children of all ages, as Piccadilly Circus took over Exposition Gardens for three performances.
"Look at that! Whoaaaa!" Becky Miller, 44, of Peoria shouted to her children, who were sitting next to her in the stands, watching as two motorcyclists gunned their engines, up, down and upside-down in a moving steel cage.
Miller's children, Makiaha, 4, and Brooklyn, 2, stared, wide-eyed and openmouthed, as the act continued. Their small hands clapped enthusiastically as they caught the excitement of the crowd, and their mom in particular.
Miller's niece, Terris Miller Jones, 13, a seventh grader at Rolling Acres Edison Junior Academy, caught the attention of a passing vendor and bought pink cotton candy to share with her cousins.
But, candy held no appeal for Brooklyn, who couldn't take her eyes off the act long enough to eat.
"She normally loves cotton candy," Miller said. "I guess the circus is much more interesting to her."
Danny and Kathy Clauson, of Glasford, brought their grandson, Bruce, 4, to the arena at Expo Gardens.
Though Bruce was getting a bit tired halfway through the clown act, Kathy Clauson was intent on the child enjoying the entire experience.
"No, we're staying for the entire show," she said, forcefully, when Bruce asked if they could "go home yet."
Bruce didn't seem to mind a few minutes later as he laughed and clapped for another act.
Kathy Clauson hadn't been to the circus in about 30 years, since she brought her daughter to one in Phoenix, Ariz. "I love the circus," she said.
Danny Clauson enjoyed going to a circus in Farmington when he was a child, a year or two older than Bruce. "It's been a long time since then, but I still remember they had a big elephant and it was a lot of fun - a lot like this one," he said.
Watching cat tricks was a highlight for the Rynearson family of Glasford. Five-year-old Ella smiled and clapped as a domestic Siamese cat jumped through metal hoops for its clown trainer.
"This is great, it's not as dangerous as watching the big cat tricks," said Joy Rynearson, Ella's grandmother.
For brothers, Evan and Ethan Yaste, students at Whittier Primary School, in Peoria, the best part of spending the day at the circus - other than eating popcorn and nachos - was watching a kangaroo boxing act.
"This is my second time to go to the circus," Ethan, 9, said. "But, this one is for sure the best 'cause they have kangaroo boxing."
Sue Thomas, the boys' grandmother, brought them to the circus because she thought it would be fun for the kids. "But, I'm having fun, too," she said, adding she's thinking about learning to ride a motorcycle after watching that portion of the event.
"Wow, I could do that," Evan, 7, said as he watched male acrobats perform stunts on metal poles. "Well, except that," he added, as one of the performers hung upside down. "No, not that."
Ruth Longoria Kingsland can be reached at 686-3196 or rlongoria@pjstar.com

MOTHERS THE STAR AT THIS WEEKEND'S RSVP CARNIVAL

The Sea Ray is always a hit at the RSVP Spring Fun Fair. This year's fair is a “Salute to Moms.”

Mothers the star at this weekend's RSVP carnival
Nevada Appeal Staff Report, May 2, 2010
A “Salute to Moms” will be the theme of the 25th annual RSVP Spring Fun Fair at Mills Park Thursday through Sunday.
The four-day event features a carnival with special all-day ride passes Friday through Sunday for $25. A $5 discount coupon can be printed from www.
carnivalmidwayfun.com.
On Sunday, Mother's Day, all moms can ride the carnival rides all day for free with a ticketed child.
And every day is Family Fun Day at the fair — Mom or Dad rides all day for only $10 with a ticketed child plus five free food and or game tokens.
Also this year everyone receives five Carnival Bucks when they purchase a sheet of 10 ride tickets or an all-day ride pass, worth $5 in food, drink and game discounts.
Thirty rides, games and attractions will include the Sea Ray Pirate Ship, Zipper, Super Tilt-a-Whirl, Ferris wheel, European bumper cars, the Glass House and a merry-go-round, plus lots of kiddie rides. Food and beverages including beer, wine and mixed drinks will be available plus arts, crafts and novelties.
Fair hours are 4-11 p.m. Thursday and Friday and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Proceeds from the fair go toward RSVP's Home Companion and Lifeline Programs which assist area low-income and homebound seniors to remain independent and in their own homes.
RSVP also sponsors the Fourth of July spectacular in Mills Park, July 1-4, and the Nevada Days Celebration in Mills Park, October 28-31.