Butler Amusements may have been incorporated in 1984 and founded in 1970, with its first tagline proclaiming “The Cleanest Show in the West,” but its roots began in the Midwest.
Butler Amusements was founded by George “Bud” Butler, his wife Evelyn, and his son Earl “Butch.” However, the Butler family's connection to the fair and outdoor amusement industry dates back to the early 1950s.
The Butler family owned Bud & Bob's, a grocery store in Austin, Minnesota, but on weekends Bud and Butch operated game concessions at local fairs, fundraisers, and other events.
By 1960, Bud acquired a “state-of-the-art” kiddie ride and moved west, working for Monarch Pacific Shows and later West Coast Shows. Other members of the Butler family, such as Bud's sister Collen, also migrated west and entered the carnival business.
Eventually, the family grocery store in Austin, Minnesota, provided funding for their first major ride, a Tilt-A-Whirl, and a West Coast midway dynasty was born.
In 2025, Butler Amusements ranked No. 6 on the list of Top Carnivals Playing the Top 50 Fairs in the U.S. The company has consistently placed in the top 10 of this annual compilation.
In 2025, the midway provider welcomed 1,610,159 fairgoers at Top 50 fairs including the California State Fair, Big Fresno Fair, and Alameda County Fair.
Butler is unique among large carnival companies, not only because it remains family owned and operated, but because it has built a reputation for playing large-scale Golden State events. The California State Fair alone runs 17 days.
Carnival Warehouse interviewed Sean Butler, a third-generation carnival professional and one of the first members of Gen Y to hold a leadership role in the industry. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, a top management position within this legacy midway provider.
Carnival Warehouse: There are too many Butlers to keep track of. Where do you fit in the Butler lineage?
Sean Butler: I am Butch's son and part of the third generation. We now have nephews and nieces, as well as some of their children, involved in the business, so we are up to five generations. I have a 4-year-old daughter, and my wife Brandy is pregnant with another girl due in October, so we can't wait to have them working in the family business.
CW: Did you grow up on the midway? What is your earliest midway memory?
SB: I lived with my mom during the school year and spent most holidays and summers on the road. I started on the game side of the business working for Greg Jewell in the buoy and goldfish games. I did that until I was about 11, then worked for my sister Kelley in her food stands until I was 16.
For the next couple of years, I worked as many jobs as my dad could think of: rides, office, assistant manager, manager, trash pickup, bathroom cleanup, whatever needed to be done. My girlfriend, now wife, and I oversaw uniforms one summer when my dad bought a cargo container full of unhemmed pants. It turned into a crash course in tailoring, patience, and just how many ways a pair of pants can be wrong. When Brandy made it through that summer, I knew I had a keeper.
Mick & Kris Brajevich, Lance & Jill Moyer, Sean & Brandy Butler, Kelley Butler, Gena Tuttle, Tami & Ron Quint
CW: When did you decide to make it an adult career?
SB: I was a sophomore in college when my dad passed away. I had already been working on the management side of the business each summer, and I felt a strong obligation to my family to help us move forward and fill the void he left behind. Everyone stepped up and worked together to push the company to the next level. That's when I knew this was where I wanted to be.
CW: What has changed the most since you started in the business?
SB: Changes happen every year: cashless “magic money” ticketing, GPS tracking for trucking, and constant upgrades and additions to rides, games, food, equipment, and bunkhouses. If you are not evolving the midway, you are falling behind.
One of the most impactful changes has been our guest worker programs from Mexico and Guatemala. They have elevated the entire operation. I've lost count of how many guests have told me, “This doesn't feel like the carnival experience I remember as a kid,” and they mean that in the best possible way.
Our crews are more efficient, safer, and more professional than ever, and it makes my job significantly easier knowing we have that level of trained experience on the midway.
That's also what made the start of 2026 so challenging. We didn't have our usual workforce in place to begin the season.
CW: What has changed the least? What's the same as it ever was?
SB: What hasn't changed, and what I hope never does, is the sense of family. People here step up for one another no matter the job.
I saw it firsthand at the start of this year. We had 35 rides to set up and only 35 crew members. Without hesitation, people who had never worked on a ride before volunteered to help. Everyone did whatever it took to make sure the rides were ready, safe, and open for the start of the season. The show must go on.
CW: How was 2025 for Butler Amusements? Did the post-pandemic upward trajectory continue, or were there signs of plateauing?
SB: 2025 was a highly successful year thanks to the best summer weather we've had in nearly a decade. We went from most days being over 100 degrees at the California State Fair to most days being 87 degrees or below. It was a dramatic contrast.
However, 2025 also began with extensive media coverage surrounding ICE activity, and that impacted our Southern California and Arizona fairs. We have also seen some decline at fairs that haven't expanded promotional days. Our customers are dealing with higher expenses just like the rest of us, and they are looking for deals everywhere they can.
I'm projecting more of the same in 2026 with increasing gas prices and ongoing global unrest.
CW: How has 2026 been so far? What is giving you hope, and what are you most worried about?
SB: Right now, I'm just happy to have most of our people in place. We still don't have all of our drivers, but most of our attendants are now in the country, and that alone deserves a sigh of relief.
I'm also seeing higher credit card usage from customers than ever before, which may suggest people have less disposable income.
CW: What new rides are you debuting in 2026?
SB: We have been waiting on rides we ordered three years ago. Most manufacturers are backlogged through 2030 at this point.
We received our new Soundwave from ARM in September 2025. For 2026, we also have a Gosetto funhouse, a funhouse built by Tom Davis, a teacup ride from Kolmax, and four ADM rides.
We've been buying for capacity and breathtaking action. You can see that in the three KMG rides we've purchased over the last three years. We also have two more rides from them on the way.
CW: How have tariffs and inflation impacted Butler's ride purchasing?
SB: We have adjusted our purchasing because of tariffs and rising expenses, but we haven't stopped buying.
Some rides have increased 25 percent in cost in just a year and a half. It doesn't seem sustainable for our industry.
CW: California State Fair is moving its dates in 2027 from summer to fall. How will this affect the midway?
SB: This move should turn out to be very successful for the California State Fair. Cool temperatures are critical for any fair, especially when the midway sits on asphalt and blacktop.
The date change has also created opportunities for other fairs to move into summer and has allowed the Western Idaho Fair in Boise to expand by an extra week and become a three-weekend fair.
Unfortunately, the move also impacted many other fairs and will change what our schedule looks like in 2027 and beyond. We will continue working with our fairs to accommodate their traditional dates as much as possible.
CW: Affordability is on everybody's mind. How has that impacted Butler's midways? What promotions work best, and how can ride companies and fairs work together to address affordability?
SB: We have operated with the mindset for some time that we need to provide customers with opportunities to save whenever possible. We have adjusted onsite pricing to allow certain fairs to sell advance-sale pricing through outlets for extended periods.
We also try to work with fairs to offer deals on gates, parking, or rides every weekday. It takes a lot of give-and-take to make an event successful for both the fair and the carnival, but we have strong working relationships with our fairs to accomplish those goals. We are all in this together.
CW: How did the show fare last year with ICE concerns in heavily Hispanic-populated areas? So far in 2026, has the situation improved or worsened?
SB: In 2025, it became more challenging the closer we were to the border. Our customers' fears increased whenever the event was fenced in, as fairs typically are. Mall and park events that weren't fenced in performed very well.
We believe 2026 will be similar, and early results are already showing that. We hope the public eventually feels safe enough to attend fairs without fear of ICE activity, but so far that has not proven to be the case.
CW: What about 2025 do you hope carries over into 2026? What do you hope doesn't return?
SB: I hope the cool summer weather continues. The years since COVID have been rough because of the heat, and we finally got some major relief in 2025.
More than anything, I hope we continue the safe year we had in 2025. Every event that passes without issue is a win in my book. There are so many moving parts that something small can quickly turn into something big, so I sleep better when the show is operating safely.
CW: Butler is renowned for long-term, large-scale West Coast fairs. Why are these events still relevant to their communities?
SB: Fairs encompass so much more than just a carnival. From the petting zoo to livestock exhibits to concerts, fairs offer something for everyone.
I'm fortunate now to experience fairs through the eyes of a 4-year-old. My daughter sees a fair very differently than I do, and whether she realizes it or not, she has changed the way I look at them too. I've adjusted midways and back-of-house operations based on how she moves through the grounds.
When a child sees something for the first time and their eyes light up, that's what it's all about. I love watching my daughter explore the fairs, discovering new exhibits in the buildings and seeing how many different animals are in the barns.
Fairs bring all of those experiences together in one place, and in some urban areas this may be the only opportunity a child has to experience those things. That makes fairs incredibly special.
