Carnival & Fair News

Before the summer Arizona heat reached Scottsdale, the town held an inaugural event: the Scottsdale Fair and Festival, running from April 25 through May 4th. Held at Westworld Scottsdale, the fair included carnival rides, games, exhibits, and plenty of fun fair food.

The fair was brought to Scottsdale by Universal Fairs, headquartered in Memphis. Founded in 2007, the company puts on fairs and events. in Atlanta, Ga.; Birmingham, Ala., and Memphis, Tn. Prior to creating the Scottsdale event, the company worked on the Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz., before Scottsdale contacted the company to run its debut fair. While this year's fair was the first ever in Scottsdale, it's now hoped to become an annual event.

Universal Fairs founder and president Mark Lovell notes that the company promotes and produces a variety of shows and expositions throughout the U.S. from fairs and festivals to boat shows and hunting and fishing events. The company is one of the leading indie promo and production companies for events such as these.

Those who entered their email on the fair's website were given free tickets to attend on either Monday or Wednesday. Regular ticket pricing was $19.64 for adults ages 13-64, and $9.99 for active military and veterans, seniors 65-plus and kids ages 5-12. Kids ages 4 and under were admitted to the event free. Event parking was $10.

Attractions free with admission included the Rhinestone Roper, a performance that featured trick shooting, knife throwing, horse tricks, and a “wheel of fate.” And speaking of wheels there was also Wesley Williams, the One Wheel Wonder, performing unicycle stunts on what was billed as “the world's tallest rideable unicycle.”

Also free, the Puppy Pals show brought adorable pups and their tricks to the event, while the Ratelli Circus served up a fun series of acrobatics, clown performers, and other stunts. And of course, there was the popular Sea Lion Show, and performances by The Birdman and his trained bird show as well.

Carnival rides included Balloon Fiesta, the towering Diamond Wheel Ferris wheel, Sleigh Ride, the Olympic Bobsled Coaster, Medusa, Vertigo, and Rampage among over 28 rides offered by carnival company Helm and Sons. Also on hand was the midway gaming arcade and a gameshow audience-participation stage. Kiddie rides included Circus Train and Cool Bears. Family fun favorites included the slide and the flume ride, Big Splash. The latter was a “cooling off” favorite. Wristbands for the carnival were priced at $35, and a line-eliminating WOW Express pass was priced at $55 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Helm and Sons set up two separate ride areas, one for little kids, the other for big kids and adults. 



On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the carnival company offered a discounted two-for-one wristband purchase priced at $40, with a WOW pass offered 2 for 1 at $60. Saturday and Sunday wristbands cost were $55, with a WOW pass at $75.

And what about fair food? Popular items included funnel cakes, caramel apples, jumbo turkey legs, and roasted corn, along with cotton candy, fried Oreos, and corn dogs. Cowboy hamburgers, Polish sausages and sliders were also on the fair menu.

Lovell describes the best part of any fair as “setting up” and seeing the enthusiasm of area residents for the event. He describes the Westworld exhibition area as “clean…fresh…with well-lit rides and grounds. The wild west show [Rhinestone Roper], which features two beautiful horses, and the Puppy Pals show were both on America's Got Talent.”

He notes that the Scottsdale Fair and Festival differs from a state or county fair only in one way – livestock. “We have everything except livestock, including the Diamond Ferris wheel that Helm and Sons brought in.”

He described the wheel as “one of five in the country that are the largest traveling Ferris wheels. It looks great at night. It's just a beautiful ride and makes for a great photo backdrop.” As to the collection of rides offered at the event overall, he calls them a strong mix of “Kiddie rides for the young ones, scary and thrill rides for the teens and adults.”

Along with the rides, attractions, and fair food, he notes that the event included a large number of commercial vendors as well, “including antiques, jewelry, and knickknacks.” The fair welcomed 70 different commercial vendors in all.

As a first-year event, the fair was just establishing its footing this year in terms of promotion. According to Universal Fairs' Doug Chevalier, “The fair exceeded our expectations in terms of the quality of the fairgoers and the excitement of everyone who came. I surveyed over a thousand people as they exited the fair, and they were just so happy and excited to have it in town.” He adds that any initial concern about entrance fee pricing was swept away once people arrived. “Everyone was just so impressed by the attractions we offered, with Puppy Pals being one of the biggest hits. They use rescue dogs and the dogs are just terrific.”



Besides the appeal of the fair's attractions, food was also a key part of the fair's positive reviews, Chevalier explains. “Everyone loved our vendors a lot, and they were mentioned repeatedly by fairgoers.” As to rides, he attests that “The Diamond Wheel was the most incredible of all the rides. People of all ages loved it. And Medusa was the ride that stirred up the most thrills.”



While attendance numbers were “a little disappointing,” Chevalier says, the fair will develop new marketing techniques for next time. “We come to many different areas, but Scottsdale was unique in some ways. People didn't really check their mail, for example. We gave away 50,000 free tickets, but only 76 people came into the event from that. Also, in Scottsdale, the way to market to school kids is through the PTOs, the private schools, and church groups. It's more about creating links and word of mouth in the Scottsdale area. Next time we will focus more on the school organizations and eliminate the mail contact,” he attests. Chevalier adds that “Billboards, which we typically utilize, are outside the city and not so prevalent or effective as in other locations. Digital ads were very strong for us, but we may refocus our approach slightly there, too.”