Little skill goes long way at Capital Fair
Savannah Shea is what she calls a “true carny.”
While some might consider the term pejorative, Shea is more than happy to claim the title. After all, it’s in her blood.
“I was born into it,” the 24-yearold said during downtime at her Capital Fair game Saturday.
Shea was working the Gold Fish Bowls at the fairgrounds at the Rideau Carleton Entertainment Centre on Albion Road.
Shea’s father was American and “had his own show.” Carnies might also call themselves “showmen,” Shea said. Her father came to Canada, met her mother and brought her into the business, too.
Shea would run around fairs as a child, riding rides and having fun. When she was about 11 or 12, she started helping with the work any way she could. Now, she travels all over Ontario.
As far as the fish bowls, it’s a winnable game, Shea says. The trick? Toss the ping-pong ball high into the air so that it can drop straight into the round bowl opening.
Families gathered at the fair to watch dogs perform tricks, feed goats and even a llama or tried their hands at throwing darts at balloons in hopes of winning a giant stuffed poop emoji.
“Do you want some water?” a young mother called back to her son, who was holding her hand, but dragging his feet a little to keep up.
“I want a Slushie,” he said, eyeing the bumper cars as he walked by.
Jesse J., 28, runs the Bushels Baskets, where a gentle hand tossing two balls into a tilted tub will get you a prize.
“I wasn’t born into the show,” he said. But he loved the lifestyle.
“Always on the go, new place, new faces, lots of smiles,” he said, before trying to get some passersby to stop and take a couple throws.
If you throw the balls too hard, they won’t land and will just come right back out. Children tend to do well, Jesse said. “Cause they have a gentle touch.”
But he concedes that with games of chance, players can’t hope for better than 50/50 odds.
While some games take a bit of finesse, everyone is a guaranteed winner at the High Striker, where contestants strike at a puck attached to a tower full of lights with a hammer or mallet. It’s the quintessential strongman game at any fair.
“They call me the voice of the midway,” said the operator, whom they also call “Points.”
Little kids can step right up, take the biggest and best swing and all the while Points is hyping them up with a “song and dance,” cleverly concealing he’s stepping on an air hose. Before they know it, the puck hits the top of the tower and lights and bells are going off.
“They can think that they’re really strong,” said Points, who’s been in the business for 13 years.
He’s from Ottawa originally and once the fair season’s done in the fall, he plans to move back to the capital.
The Capital Fair, formerly the Gloucester Fair, runs until Aug. 27.