Carnival & Fair News

Michael Prelesnik has been excited about county fairs and carnivals since he was child. Today, along with work as an educator, Prelesnik operates his own carnival company, Mason RailTime Adventures Kiddie Carnival.

“I grew up attending the exhibiting still life exhibits, pigs, and sheep through 4-H and FFA at the Ingham County Fair in Mason, Michigan in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  It was my favorite week of the year!  I enjoyed showing at the fair, but I was always interested and drawn to the carnival midway at the fair,” he enthuses.

The carnival midway at that time was run by Wade Shows. According to Prelesnik, “I loved to watch the rides roll into the fairgrounds and be set up. I was always so excited each year to see what rides and games would be up at the fair that year. My interest in fairs and the carnival led me to later apply for the Ingham County Fair Board, and I was appointed to the fair board by the county commissioners in 1998.”

During his tenure on the board, he was consistently a member of the fair operations sub- committee of the fair board, working with the carnivals and negotiating details of the carnival contract. Over his years on the fair board, he also served several years as secretary and president, ultimately completing 12 years of service on the fair board in 2009.

In 2007, he purchased his first carnival ride, a Zamperla El Paso Train from an independent ride operator in Columbus, Ohio. He notes that he would “take the train to various small festivals and events in the mid-Michigan area— and it was a big hit. It was quite a special attraction in my area that no one else had. It was, however, a challenge to start a carnival from scratch.” The largest obstacle, he says, was obtaining liability insurance without a ride history; however Allied Specialty Insurance gave him a chance, insuring him for his first year of operation.

Prelesnik says that he has been drawn to the carnival business his whole life, and he finds it unique, rewarding, and challenging. Despite the hard work of setting up his mobile operation, “providing memories and fun to thousands of people is pretty cool and quite rewarding.  I am proud to be a part of events that I play and provide these fun and memorable experiences for families. The carnival is an important aspect of many festivals and fairs, and I am proud to help these events succeed.”  

Even during his years on the fair board, Prelesnik was working in education as well. Then a high school agriscience teacher, he is currently the principal of the 400-student North Aurelius Elementary School in Mason, Michigan, a position he has held since 2011.

Today, he's busier than ever in the carnival business, with the number of smaller carnivals available to play festivals and events dwindling. “I have found a pretty good niche in the small carnival market in Michigan, providing kids rides to many smaller festivals and even some larger events that don't want a full-size carnival or are unable to secure a larger carnival.”

The name “Mason RailTime Adventures” pays homage to the first ride he owned, the El Paso train. “At the time, I never expected to own more than one ride, so that is how I ended up with a train themed name of my company,” he relates. As he brought that ride to festivals and events, he began to accumulate other attractions, such as a Magic Jump Train Bounce House and a Red Bone Fishy Fishy Game in 2008; since then, he has continued to add rides and games.

He explains that “I eventually sold the kiddie train and currently have five kiddie rides and 9 inflatables.  My favorite ride is my SBF-VISA Kiddie Pirate ship, [which is] themed ‘Air Show.'  Kids really enjoy this ride, and it is my top grossing ride.  I also have a kiddie swing, spinning bear ride, and two fun houses.”



Additionally, Prelesnik offers three game trailers with Balloon Darts, Mini Basketball, a Cork Gun Gallery, Milk Can Toss, and Cross Bow Darts. He adds that “I still have the Red Bone Fishy Fishy game and it has done well for me.  Kids enjoy fishing and always winning a prize.  I use it at most events, and it is one of my top grossing games.”

However, the game that gets the most play is his Hi Striker – he owns 7 of them at all, often placing them at multiple different events at the same time. He relates that there are not many Hi Striker games in the state, so it rarely conflicts with other game offerings.

“All of my games I operate as “prize every time” games.  I never want a customer to walk away empty handed.  This is just the way I choose to run my operation, and I think customers always appreciate winning a prize.  I feel this is especially important for children,” he attests.



Asked for his favorite things about running a carnival, he cites “attending the Gibtown Trade show each February and looking over the stock that will be available for the next season.  I have attended Gibtown each year since I started my company,” he explains.

Prelesnik plays 20-25 events each season across Michigan and Northern Indiana. He begins the last week of April with his own school carnival at North Aurelius Elementary School and conclude at the end of December at the Ashley Country Christmas. He laughs that North Aurelius has “one of the largest school carnivals in the area. All the kids know their principal owns a carnival!”

He plays a variety of festivals on his own with rides, inflatables, and games, providing a “kiddie carnival” midway. He also books rides and games a few times a year with Wade Shows and Skerbeck Entertainment Group in Michigan and has also booked rides and Hi Strikers with Skerbeck Family Carnival and Elliott's Amusements. He also books a few company picnic rental events each summer.



“I am very appreciative of the shows that book my rides and games and the partnerships and friendships that I have formed with these other shows,” he says.

He says he truly enjoys providing rides, games, and inflatables for his own school carnival at North Aurelius Elementary School. Other memorable events include “the South Haven HarborFest right near the edge of Lake Michigan and the beaches of South Haven.” He also expresses that “It is a very proud accomplishment for me to be able to book in with Skerbeck Entertainment Group at my hometown fair, the Ingham County Fair in Mason, Michigan. It is one of my favorite weeks of the year as I see lots of families, friends, and kids from my school at the fair.”

However, one of Prelesnik's most unique events is the six-week Ashley Country Christmas, which runs the weekend before Thanksgiving through the weekend before Christmas.  “Ashley, Michigan is the ‘North Pole' for the original 1225 Polar Express Steam Engine. Just over a thousand people descend on the village as the steam locomotive destination twice daily each weekend.  I provide games including Hi Strikers, mini basketball, and balloon darts,” he says.

This year, he added to his route: “Jack O'Lanterns Unleashed,” a lighted Halloween walk-though event at the Ingham County Fairgrounds in Mason. For previous visits to this event, he had games and rides outdoors, but this year he added a number of bounce houses and rides inside a large building on the fairgrounds for kids to enjoy the rides and carnival activities both before and after walking through “over 5000 hand carved jack o' lanterns” at an event that runs each of the four weekends during the month of October.

Prelesnik wants readers to know that his company is dedicated to “providing families and children fun in a clean and safe environment.  My crew is friendly, nice, and courteous to our patrons.  I like making working for my show fun for the employees.  In turn, we all have a good time and treat our patrons with courtesy — if we are having a fun time - the customers will have a fun time, too,” he stresses. His crew consists of 10 family members and friends.

As to his future plans, he says that while working as an elementary school principal, his kiddie carnival is as large as he wants it to be. “I have shifted some of my emphasis more towards game concessions as I really enjoy the game business.  Carnival games are a lot of fun for me, and I love to see kids and families have a good time playing the games and walking away with a special prize.  I take great pride in stocking my games with a large variety of high-quality prizes for kids to win.”  

In addition to working with his own show and at the school, he also books events in Michigan for Wade Shows.

“I just completed my third season working with Wade Shows in routing, and I booked five events for Wade Shows in Michigan this past summer.  Over my years as a fair board member and booking events for my own company, I am fortunate to have experiences on both sides of the carnival booking process — working with festivals and fair boards on the committee side and on the other side of the business as a carnival owner.  This has helped me to be able to build strong relationships with committees and organizations to book events…” he relates.

While it's hard work, he points out that “it is extremely rewarding to see the work during a whole year come to fruition with a successful carnival event. I am proud of the success we have had at many of the Wade Shows events I booked, including the Clawson Fourth of July, DeWitt Ox Roast, St. John's Mint Festival, Garden City Community Care Carnival, and the Dexter Bicentenial Celebration.  Dexter, in particular, I am very proud of making happen.”

He explains that there were many obstacles to overcome with the carnival location in the Dexter downtown, city approval, and finding a location for the carnival camping. “But we worked hard and overcome those obstacles and were able to provide the city of Dexter the first carnival in their town square downtown area in 50 years.  We were also able to set up the show's large Technical Park Ferris Wheel, [known as] the Friendly Wheel, in the downtown square which was a goal of the committee and an overwhelming hit with the community,” he adds.



Prelesnik's enthusiasm for his work is contagious. “Starting a carnival company from scratch is no easy feat. I like that in our industry, we all help each other and work together.  I have received much help over the past 17 years and mentoring from many other carnival and show owners.  I always try to be positive about our industry and do anything I can to promote the carnival industry and the importance and value of the carnival industry to our local communities,” he explains.

He also focuses on customer safety at events and reducing incidences of crowd fighting and violence — especially among young people — at carnival events across the country. He notes that “I continually think about what our industry can do to reduce this problem. Many shows fence carnivals, establish entrance policies, and provide security, but I am always thinking about what else our industry can do to educate young people about not fighting at carnival events. It is a huge challenge facing our industry right now that needs more thought and work to improve.”

Prelesnik is a member of the International Independent Showmen's Association (IISA); the Showmen's League of America; the Michigan Association of Fairs & Exhibitions (MAFE) and the Michigan Festivals and Events Association (MFEA).