Fitton Center studio named
Sneak peek at 'Runway' finale
'Suor Angelica' rehearsal
Home > Blogs > Things to do in Butler County > Archives > 2009 > August > 03 > Entry
Carnival coming to Cincinnati Mall
Amusements of America Carnival, 4 to 11 p.m. Aug. 12-14, noon to Midnight Aug. 15, noon to 11 p.m. Aug. 16; Cincinnati Mall, Fairfield. Free admission.
<< o >>
If your “staycation” kept you from going to the Ohio State Fair this year, you can thank Cincinnati Mall in Fairfield for bringing part of the fair to you.
Although the famous butter sculpture won’t be making the trip, Amusements of America will be bringing a portion of the Midway to Cincinnati Mall for a five day stay, Aug. 12-16.
Amusements of America began operations in 1939 when the five Vivona brothers bought the Ferris wheel from the New York World’s Fair.
“Before that, they had ice cream trucks in the city,” said second-generation operator Rob Vivona. “They expanded that to going to different carnivals in the area.”
They first put up the Ferris wheel across the street from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to draw people to their ice cream stand. From there, they just started buying rides and amusements and the company was at one time cited as “the world’s largest traveling amusement park” by the Guinness Book of World Records. The company contracts with fairs and special event producers around the country and has been providing the Midway at the Ohio State Fair since 1991.
Although the original Ferris wheel is no longer in the family, the carnival will feature a 100-foot Ferris wheel along with a merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl and other thrill rides.
“We’ll be bringing 25 rides and all the food and games to go with it,” Vivona said.
Among the rides will be the Fireball, which Vivona described as “a big claw that swings the riders facing inward on a 40-foot boom.”
“It has a lot of artistry to it,” he said.
The carnival is the first event in what the new managers at the Cincinnati Mall hope will be a long-line of community-friendly activities, said marketing manager Abigail Woolwine.
“We keep hearing that the community wants to take ownership of the mall, so we’re looking to pack our schedule full of more events to help get people engaged,” she said.
“We want to reassure people that the mall is not closing and we’re actively looking to bring people back.”
The carnival will be set up between the mall and I-275 so that it will have maximum visibility.
“This is (Amusements of America’s) first time in the Cincinnati area,” Woolwine said. “We’re hoping it will go over so well that we can make it an annual event.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Fesitvals
Comments