Carnival & Fair News

None of us could have predicted the year that was 2020.  Coming on the heels of several successful seasons in a row, we were all looking forward to a record-breaking year in 2020.  Fairs were booking entertainment and hoping for big crowds again, manufacturers and vendors were taking orders and producing equipment, carnivals were adding rides to their arsenal and expanding their routes.

Then in the beginning of March, on the cusp of the season opening, things all came to a halt.

Even with the 15 days to slow the spread in March, most were optimistic about the season beginning again by Easter ….. certainly Memorial Day…. definitely July 4th… and then even many Labor Day, and fall fairs began to cancel one after another.  Many carnivals never even opened in 2020.

Our hats are off to the fairs that were able to put plans together and run, to the carnivals that struggled through the season, having to find places to go and weather last minute cancellations, encountering Health Departments and government agencies where rules and guidelines were moving targets and it was easier for them just to say “no”, rather than work with you to develop a plan to open safely, as has been done by so many events this year.

Like so many other businesses, our industry is willing to go the extra mile to keep our guests safe and has demonstrated the ability to do it.  In fact, there have been no outbreaks tied to fairs and outdoor events this year yet, as we wrote was back in April, we are likely the last to open.

Throughout the pandemic, we have worked incredibly hard to keep you informed and up to date.  We have struggled to keep our writers and staff on payroll so we can continue to inform you in this most critical time.  As you know, CarnivalWarehouse.com and AmusementParkWarehouse.com remain a free publication and we are entirely dependent upon our wonderful advertisers to pay the bills and it is they who have helped keep our website open and information flowing, so please, as you continue to read our publications, please remember these great folks and continue to patronize them when you are able to.

No one knows what 2021 will bring. On the heels of a year that has been beyond imaginably difficult, we are hopeful this Christmas Season for a turnaround for everyone that has been hurt by the pandemic and the government lockdowns that have come along with it.  We remember those we have lost this year to this virus, but we also look at the harm and suffering it has caused to so many who are struggling to keep their businesses afloat, their employees paid, and their families fed.

Through it all, we will continue to keep you informed on a regular basis as long as finances allow and we hope to be chronicling the great reopening in 2021.

Thank you to our readers, advertisers and friends and we wish you and everyone a safe and prosperous New Year.


Matt Cook                 Ron Weber
Publisher                   Editor