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IT’S FAIR TIME
- PHOTOGALLERY:
The 2008 Canfield Fair - So far, fair assistance
faring well - 3 religious services
available to fairgoers - Bidding for quality and
the 4-H - Dragons, turtles, degus!
Oh my! - Royal court
- A trip to the
fair doesn't come cheap,
fairgoers say - VIDEO:
Jane Renkenberger - VIDEO:
Fair Mom - VIDEO:
Leroy's Sausage - 50 years at fair
bring honors for 2 - Wet rides, cow
kisses and tradition - Produce makes for
fair display - 2008 Outstanding Youth
Mahoning County
Junior Fair - Canfield Fair continues
long tradition - Admission and Ride
Prices - Health officials prepare
for fair
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DJ Winland of Wintersville cleans one of Bates Brothers Amusement rides
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HANGIN in THERE - Bob Taylor of Cortland hangs his signs on his booth at the Canfield Fair - the Fair opens tomorrow - robertkyosay
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DJ Winland of Wintersville cleans one of Bates Brothers Amusement rides
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Alice Durst of Akron arranges stuffed animals at the basketball hoop game.
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HANGIN IN THERE: Bob Taylor of Cortland hangs his signs on his booth at the Canfield Fair.
By ASHLEY LUTHERN
Workers set up rides, concessions for another stint
This year, 110 amusement rides are at the Canfield Fair.
CANFIELD — In 30 minutes, a ride in kiddie land at the Canfield Fair went from a hunk of metal on the back of a truck to Dino’s, a dinosaur-themed mini-roller coaster.
Eight workers moved two 800-pound sections to put the floor of the ride in place. For them, Tuesday was one of their easier work days.
“We set up seven rides Monday, including the giant slide,” said Brian Spicer, 28, of Bates Brothers Amusement Inc.
Not only do employees act as ride operators and help construct them, each attraction has to be cleaned to perfection.
“We use Pledge to shine up the slide and a mop and hose on other rides to get off the dust from the previous fair,” Spicer said.
For Spicer and others at Bates Brothers, the Canfield Fair is the largest county fair that they attend in the nation based on the total number of amusement rides: 110.
Helping Spicer with the mini-roller coaster were Sergey Kancerov, 19, and Mikhail Ochirov, 20, both from Russia.
“We found out about this job from a friend in Russia,” Kancerov said. “It’s an interesting way to see America.”
Carnivals in Russia do not have amusement rides, Ochirov said. Instead, concession stands with beer and vodka, fun houses and team games are the norm.
Though there won’t be team games featured in Canfield, fairgoers will be able to try their luck at a variety of classic carnival games on the Midway, including Alice Durst’s basketball stand.
“It’ll take me about seven hours to get this all up,” Durst said of opening the stand, as she reached to hang another prize on the back wall.
Durst, 40, manages the basketball booth at 19 fairs in Ohio each year as an employee of T’n’L Concessions.
“I used to work in a factory, but this job is much more entertaining,” said the four-year fair veteran from Akron.
For $3, contestants can have one basketball shot or two shots for $5. The prices have not changed since last summer, but Durst thinks that could change next year.
“People think it’s cheap to run a game like this, but it’s not,” she said. “There’s the cost of employees, fuel to move the games and prizes. It’s expensive.”
As a game operator, Durst must be a combination of motivator and salesperson.
“It’s a 7-inch ball going into a 14-inch rim; it’s not hard. I try to help people line up their shots,” she said. “But we’re paid by commission and it’s all about the sales. If you’re getting haggled at a game, that person’s just doing their job.”
Even with the hours of preparation spent constructing and blowing the dust out of the booth, working 12-hour shifts and dealing with frustrated customers, Durst would not change a thing about her job.
“I love everything at the fair at night,” she said.
SEE ALSO:Produce makes for fair display and What's Happening