Carnival & Fair News

“I'm a product of fairs, said Greg Inman, Operations Manager of Amusements of America. Working mainly behind the scenes, this older millennial is in charge of making sure his midway makes it to the fair ground, is setup, inspected and smoothly running come opening day through closing, then disassembled and transported to the next date. But the midway is in his blood, his pedigree coming from both sides.

His mother, Adrienne Vivona is third generation of the Vivona Family.  The five Vivona brothers famously founded Amusements of America in 1939 with the purchase of a World's Fair Ferris Wheel – and Greg's father Edmund Charles Inman Jr, who passed away in 2022, was the General Manager of the Georgia State Fair, which is where the couple met. Greg likes to joke about being born on the midway, but it was where he most certainly grew up.

His earliest memories are seeing the midway from the best seat on the fairgrounds – alongside his grandfather Morris Sr. “I remember riding around in the golf cart when I was really young, it was just spending time with my grandfather. I just couldn't wait to see him. I was teased that I was his favorite. But it was just being around family, traveling with them. I remember being aware that his time was very limited, so it was very special being with him, he was important.”

Those memories are from the Georgia State Fair – on whose midway his parents fell in love and is still provided by this multigenerational carnival family, though at a different location. Growing up, he,worked part time and summers with the family “until I finished high school, I usually worked with my father, who was working for the show by then and had the food concessions.”

Gridiron Dreams

But he also was a high school jock who loved football and was talented enough to earn a football scholarship to Saint Peter's University in Jersey City. But his gridiron dreams suddenly evaporated when the college cancelled the football program in 2006, negating the scholarship.

 Pragmatic, hard-working and deeply committed to the family tradition, the then young millennial, who grew up in Miami, went out on the road, working mainly with the food concessions but getting more than a taste of the entire midway. “For about a year and half, I helped move the rides, stepped into different roles, and worked the food. By the end of the second year, I was mainly overseeing the drivers, hiring drivers, dispatching loads, and learning the DOT regulations, filling out the paperwork, handling all the logistics.”

His midway calling proved to be behind the scenes, where in addition to transportation coordinating, he “completely oversees the electrical department,” overseeing “all the generators that power the carnival, wiring the entire carnival for set up. As long as the carnival is up I make sure the lights stay lit. I'm also heavily involved with the inspectors.”

Even in the ten years or so Greg has been directly involved with inspection process, the job has evolved. There's more information to keep up on from the state inspectors, who “are issuing more bulletins and communiques. Now-a-days, everybody has a cellphone with a camera. Everything is under a microscope, the inspectors are just enforcing the new regulations. The overall inspection procedure hasn't changed, but we have the same certification as the ride inspectors, so we're able to talk the talk. We have open communication and when there's paperwork you dot your “I''s and cross your “t's”

 

Company Evolution

In addition to NAARSO certification and Electrician licensure, Operations Manager is in charge of a team of workers and coordinating efforts. It's a job where multitasking is inherent and supervision cannot be conducted remotely. “I'm very hands on, you have to be,” he said. “Every day is something different. Rides are more computerized, they are easier to assemble but the problems can be more intricate. You have to animate problems. The rides have evolved, so the ride tech needs to know much more, from LED lighting to mechanical maintenance.”

Amusements of America is ranked #17 on the Carnival Warehouse list of top-20 Carnivals, with its largest event the Bloomsburg Fair, which attracted 350,956 in 2023. For most of the year, the company travels in two units, Red and Blue (Greg is mainly with the Red Unit).

According to the Amusements of America's website, “the company travels the country, bringing smiles to the faces of millions of Americans each year, and helping dozens of non-profits raise much needed revenue for their communities. Their two units travel from Vermont to Florida and everywhere in between.”

In addition to the Bloomsburg Fair, other major county fairs along the route include: Saratoga County Fair; Cattaraugus County Fair; Franklin County Fair; Vermont State Fair; Georgia Mountain Fair; Columbia County Fair; Georgia State Fair and Baker County Fair. Although technically among the largest midway providers in the U.S., Inman is well aware of its unique position. “My route is too small for some of the bigger shows and too big for some of the smaller carnival companies, which are getting fewer. But our contracts are getting re-signed, as long as the people are coming out. Our fairs though, keep getting better. We're seeing more record years.”



Like many companies, Amusements of America was buoyed by the post-lockdown fair boom. “We had one of our best years in 2022,” he said. People were ready to get out of the house and back to normal life. They were flush with government money and that was good for the carnival business. Last year, we were also up, so people are still coming out.”

Roughly midway through the 2024 season, “demand is up, people are still coming out. They like our product.”  But he admits, “the world is a different place.”

There's of course the notion – possibly superstitious – that fair turndown dips during presidential election years – “this year's been up so far,” he insists. But the different world is mostly in terms of price, inflation is driving up costs. “The biggest factor this year is that prices on everything have gone up, all the parts; hydraulic fluid, light bulbs, fuel. They were going up last year but we're starting to feel the inflation more this year. When we're down we're not down enough to cause concern, but overall, inflation may be effecting consumer spending.”

The other 2024 issue has been the rise of disruptive teens. For Amusements of America, permits were pulled the day before Memorial Day weekend for a still date in Asbury Park. “Like almost all carnivals this year, we've been having issues with disruptive teens, where the towns are not issuing permits because of a lack of policing. We've worked with promoters putting up more fencing and more security, but when incidents happen outside the gate, that's beyond our control.”

That's the most frustrating aspect for Inman. Being an operations manager means is all about control. Without the rides, games, food, etc., functioning at optimal levels, there is no fun. “Every decision you make affects something else, but I have family around me. It's pressure and a big obligation, but it's fun, even when there's a lot on your plate. There's no trade school for this business, but I learned from family. We're carrying on the tradition of the original Vivona brothers.”