Strates Shows, Inc. is a family operated traveling carnivalmidway company based in Orlando, Florida. It provides amusement rides, games and concessions for local, county and state fairs throughout the United States. Strates Shows is the only midway company in the country that transports their personnel and equipment by train during its annual seven-month season.[3] The train currently comprises 61 rail cars and 34 trucks.[4]
James E. Strates, a Greek immigrant, came to the United States in 1909.[5] He first worked a series of odd jobs, but in 1919, joined Lee Schaefer's Athletic Show as a professional wrestler under the name of "Young Strangler Lewis" after learning the sport at a YMCA in Endicott, New York.[4] Strates, along with partners Nick Bozinis and W.L. Platt, would renovate the show and call it Southern Tier Shows in 1922. The first show consisted of a merry-go-round, ferris wheel, an athletic show, 15 concessions, three side shows and five hard rubber tire trucks.[4] Times were hard that season, and Strates bought out his partners the following year. He also continued to wrestle and manage other performers as a side project.
In 1927, Strates purchased an old plant near Elmira, New York in order to help facilitate equipment maintenance.[4] His show grew into 11 major acts, traveling the area on 18 trucks before the Great Depression struck in 1929. Southern Tier Shows struggled over the next few years like other businesses during the period, but many of Strates' creditors carried him through due to his honest reputation. In 1932, the name of the company would be changed to James E. Strates Shows. Beginning in 1934, Strates would purchase his first flatbed railroad cars to haul equipment, eventually operating 40 cars.[4] He continued to buy smaller companies over the next few years to enlarge his business.
On December 22, 1945, fire engulfed a barn holding all of Strates' midway equipment which was being stored for the winter in Mullins, South Carolina. His train was the only usable piece remaining.[4] Luckily, everything was insured. Strates was able to rebuild his company, bigger and better, in time for the 1946 season. By 1953, James E. Strates Shows was one of the largest midway companies in the United States.[4] In 1955, the winter quarters moved to Orlando, Florida where it remains today.
1944 advertisement for Strates Shows
After James E. Strates died in 1959, his son E. James Strates inherited the company. Now licensed under Strates Shows, Inc., the younger Strates continues to own and operate the business. Over the years, E. James Strates brought new innovations to the amusement industry including cooperative promotions, advance ticket sales and a centralized ticket system.[4] Like other carnival midway companies, many of their rides have recently become eco-friendly including the use of LED lighting and biodiesel fueled generators.
The Erie County Fair, located in Hamburg, New York, is currently the oldest stop on the circuit. Strates Shows has operated the midway there since 1924, just after the company's inception.[6] A few state fairs have been included on their route in the past, but Strates Shows has met significant bidding competition for providing midways at these venues in recent years.[7] Despite these challenges, Strates Shows continues to keep a busy annual schedule. Other notable events the company currently works include the Georgia-Carolina State Fair in Augusta, Georgia, the Hudson Valley Fair in Wappingers Falls, New York, the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, Vermont, the North Florida Fair in Tallahassee, Florida and the Carolina Classic Fair in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[8]
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.
Tilt-A-Whirl is a flat ride similar to the Waltzer in Europe, designed for commercial use at amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals, in which it is commonly found. The rides are manufactured by Larson International of Plainview, Texas.
A circus train is a method of conveyance for circus troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX), a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907.
The Zipper is an amusement ride invented by Joseph Brown under Chance Rides in 1968. Popular at carnivals and amusement parks in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, it features strong vertical G-forces, numerous spins, and a noted sense of unpredictability. Chance Rides has manufactured more than 200 units since the ride's debut.
The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York every August. Based on 2018 attendance statistics, The Erie County Fair is the second largest fair in New York and the fourth largest county fair in North America, often drawing over one million in attendance.
Conklin Shows was the largest traveling amusement corporation in North America. The 75-year-old company operated traveling carnivals at various summer agricultural shows across North America and is based in Brantford, Ontario and formerly also in West Palm Beach, Florida. The company has a long history in Canada, providing entertainment for generations of children and adults. The organization used to operate the midway services for some of Canada's largest summer fairs including the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, the Calgary Stampede, and Edmonton's K-Days. In 2004, Conklin Shows International route and equipment were sold to North American Midway Entertainment.
A Music Express is an amusement ride based on the original Caterpillar rides of Germany. Several near-identical ride designs are also produced by other companies: Musik Express by Italian company Bertazzon and US Majestic Rides, Himalaya by American company Wisdom Rides, German company Mack, and French company Reverchon, and Silver Streak by Wisdom Rides. This ride is a modern adaptation of the famous Harry Traver Caterpillar rides.
Midway State Park, located in Maple Springs, New York, was established in 1898 by the Jamestown & Lake Erie Railway as a picnic ground. Today, it is recognized as the fifteenth-oldest continually operating amusement park in the United States, and the fifth-oldest remaining trolley park of the thirteen still operating in the United States.
The Scrambler, Twist, Twister, Cha Cha, Sizzler, or Merry Mixer, is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. There are a number of variations of the design.
A traveling carnival, usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair, is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being fitted-up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. In fact, many carnivals have circuses while others have a clown aesthetic in their decor. Unlike traditional carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance.
The Tornado is an amusement ride manufactured by Wisdom Industries Ltd. Most tornados travel with a traveling midway company to many fairs with many other rides.
Harry Lewiston was an American showman, freak show director, and barker. He wrote his memoirs under his stage name, published posthumously in 1968 as Freak Show Man: the Autobiography of Harry Lewiston, as told to Jerry Holtman.
The wall of death, motordrome, velodrome or well of death is a carnival sideshow featuring a silo- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, typically ranging from 20 to 36 feet in diameter and made of wooden planks, inside which motorcyclists, or the drivers of miniature automobiles, travel along the vertical wall and perform stunts, held in place by friction and centrifugal force.
Reithoffer Shows, Inc. is a North American, family-owned and operated traveling midway. They provide carnival and fair rides, games, and food to fairgrounds located mainly along the East Coast of the United States. Events featuring a Reithoffer Shows midway are held from April through November. The company's headquarters are located in Gibsonton, Florida, USA.
Fiesta Shows is a travelling amusement park that entertains and visits over 60 communities throughout the New England region. It is New England's largest carnival.
North American Midway Entertainment, LLC (NAME) is an American provider of midway services based in Farmland, Indiana that describes itself as "the world's largest traveling outdoor amusement park." NAME provides rides, games and food to over 15 million fairgoers every year in 20 states and 4 Canadian provinces. In 2018, NAME was recognized as the leading midway provider to the top 50 fairs in North America.
Eyerly Aircraft Company was an amusement ride manufacturing company in Salem, Oregon, founded by Lee Eyerly in 1930. The company originally intended to design flight simulators for the aircraft industry but shifted to amusement rides after an early simulator, called Orientator, became a popular pay-per-ride attraction with the public. The company manufactured rides until 1985 and went bankrupt in 1990, following a fatal accident in 1988 that occurred on a ride built by the company.
Wade Shows, Inc. is a traveling carnival midway company based in Livonia, Michigan. It provides amusement rides, games and concessions for local, county and state fairs throughout the eastern and central United States. The company also has an office in Spring Hill, Florida, location of its winter quarters.
Powers Great American Midways (PGAM) is a family operated traveling carnival midway company based in Corfu, New York. It provides amusement rides, games and concessions for local, county and state fairs throughout the eastern United States. The business is a trade name of Amusements of Rochester, Inc.
Royal American Shows (RAS) was a leading American traveling carnival company that operated from the 1920s to the 1990s in the United States and, until the 1970s, in Canada. The company promoted itself as the "Most Beautiful Show on Earth", with the "World's Largest Midway."
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