I was driving by Bondville yesterday and they were having the Bondville Fair, complete with rides such as Tilt a Whirls, Scramblers, giant slides, merry go rounds, and a Ferris Wheel and it got me thinking: Why doesn’t Brattleboro ever hold a carnival, with a midway, rides, food trucks, games, and so on?
No handfuls of tickets, no stepping over power cables, no sound of generators, no sight of colorful lights at the edges of every ride or booth.
Is there a reason Brattleboro does not have a ride and game packed carnival? They aren’t that difficult to arrange. A sponsoring organization and a location are usually enough.
Did we have a bad experience with one at some point? Did we give up the idea of holding a fair when the Valley Fair ended.
I’ve been watching and waiting for a carnival to roll into town for well over a decade, but none ever comes. We barely have circuses appear.
Why? Is it them? Is it us?
It was lovely
We attended the Bondville Fair as well! It was so easy. Grassy, bracelet covers all rides, nice people.
Wanna team up? Looks easy!
Maybe we should host an annual carnival.
Fiesta Shows, who travel New England, says this:
“We also handle all of the operational details including obtaining all the necessary local health, building, and electrical permits, and inspections, arranging police details, funding advertisements of the event, arranging for portable toilets and dumpsters. We also carry a $5,000,000.00 General Liability coverage for your organization and site location.
Your duties are simple:
Secure an acceptable site: We need approximately 50,000 to 60,000 square ft.
Assist us in obtaining a 4-day carnival permit from the local licensing board.
Have a great time watching the community enjoy themselves.”
I like it so far..
Hmm.. Seems right up my alley!
Seriously
Let’s chat more.
Carnival in Brattleboro
I remember one where Black MT Road meets Putney RD. Maybe this was before Black MT Square was built? I don’t remember if this was a regular thing or a one time occurrence.
My recollection is that it was mid-late ’80s. When was Black MT Square built?
I recall being there with several friends, and the organizers trying to get us to work all night to help break down the rides.
I thought it sounded like fun. One of my friends was worried we’d work all night then not get paid, so we didn’t do it.
Carnival rides
There was one particular company that came around every year (or maybe every-other year?) in the 70s and into the early 80s
From what I remember, they’ve set up in the parking lot in front of what was most recently Home Depot (it was probably ‘Ames’ at the time), on the Fullflex field, and the last few times they came to town, in the field off Black Mountain Road where the VFW is now.
Yes!
It’d be great to have a carnival in Bratt in the Summer!
Workin' on it...
FYI, I met with Brandie at BS&L and we have begun the process of getting details about hosting a carnival/fair here in town. If we can make it happen, we will…. : )
We will certainly keep everyone posted on the progress.
Hooray!
Anything I can do, let me know.