Carnival & Fair News

The fair in North America means so many distinctly different things to so many different groups of people. The impact is far-reaching and embedded into the fabric of the community in which it serves. The fair fosters growth, development, and supports the civic spirit that manifests itself throughout the year. It is a fun place to be, to see and be seen, to join with neighbors, friends and families, and to enjoy all the fair has to offer. Additionally, the economic spin off and impact that benefits communities due to a fair happening cannot be overlooked. The fair must remain fresh and appealing, exciting and rewarding, entertaining, and educational to remain relevant in the community in which it serves. It must offer value for the hard-earned dollars that customers are going to spend, and it must present quality attractions that are fun and entertaining so that guests will return year after year. The memories that we create today often last a lifetime!

Since the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenging problem has faced the fair, outdoor amusement, and event industry of every size and description. The problem consists of groups of youths swarming at fairs and events, causing panic and unrest among the public. These swarming events are often organized well in advance and targeted towards an event or another group. The increases in negative activities do not limit themselves to swarming events alone either. We have all seen a drastic increase in civil disorder and disruption.

It's not as though this type of social setting outbreak is something new; fairs and events have been sporadically plagued with this type of behavior in the past. Yet, in recent years, these types of outbreaks have become more commonplace and a major cause for concern with organizers.

For the most part, swarming and disruption events are preplanned by the instigators through social media channels. They actively work to garner support for their event and will sort out of all the details including timing, location, and execution. At the event, groups will start forming. Once they have enough show of force, the swarming begins, which consists of groups running chaotically through the fair, often causing fights, sometimes involving the use of bear spray (which the effect is devastating), and, on rare occasions, knife and gun violence are a part of these incidents. The resounding motivation for swarming events is to gain popularity on social media channels or retaliation against another group or both. Within their peer group, these organizers status levels are elevated, resulting in even more events. Whether it be moral decay, the breakdown in the family unit or the seeming disrespect for authority, these groups take pleasure in this form of activity. The Tide Pod challenge is an example that comes to mind which reflects the vast impact actions from a small group of people can have through social media. Social media has changed society, and the seemingly unquenchable want for attention of any kind feeds the frenzy.

Reporter, Darren A. Nichols with the Detroit Free Press, reports in a June 24th editorial; “All of this fighting at summer events is just getting out of control, and leaders throughout the metro area — parents, that includes you too — must start getting a handle on this issue, particularly while we're in the warm stretch of summer heat.

In May, fighting among teenagers or young adults caused the closure of the Berkley Days weekend carnival for the second straight year. Unruly teens were seen fighting in the middle of the fair, causing many others to run out of the carnival and into local businesses. In 2022, Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep decided to permanently close the Polish Country Fair — an event dating back to 1885 — after a lack of adequate security and safety.



Collectively, we have a lot to worry about when it comes to how some youths push the boundaries; somewhere, the system of checks and balances is broken. When I witness these events or see them on TV or social media, I ask myself – where are these people's parents? Kids attacking kids and finding it entertaining requires reflection and impactful consequences. Should this situation be left unchecked, this brutal behavior sets up a very toxic future.

Even more alarming is the fact that local police and security forces seem to be handcuffed when dealing with these tribes of youth, for fear of public outcry of excessive force, racial discrimination, and a legal system that is unable to prosecute young offenders for their misdoings.

The youths have quickly figured this out and go about their marauding ways without meaningful recourse for their actions. Fair organizers need to have a clear understanding of what local law enforcement will and won't do to support their event. Indeed, law enforcement has been subject to a lot of negative publicity and may not always take a position that supports the fair and its objectives but one that fosters their own good relations within the bigger community. In-depth understanding and communication are necessary so all parties understand the role each plays well in advance of the fair.

For event and fair organizers, the problem is most perplexing, with no easy or hard solution in sight. Planners are faced with drastically increased security costs. There are additional costs associated with increasing the number of scanners and scanning security at entry gates, adding or increasing the number of surveillance cameras, and a need for increased security and police patrols inside the event. Problematically, from the fairgoer's perspective, there is a negative perception that the event is unsafe fueled by social media and overzealous TV and radio reporters looking for a sensational story. Worst of all, negative perceptions are spread by the most influential method of persuasion, word of mouth. All this equates to less attendance, which equals less revenue. This fact, paired with the increased security costs that hack at capital budgets, programming investment, or fiscal bottom lines result in a situation where it is very difficult to make any kind of profit. At the end of the day, this reduces the appeal of your fair or event. It's a vicious circle. The bottom line here is that fairs must create a safe environment; otherwise, the general public is not going to attend. In a nutshell, that's the end of the event. The long and the short of the matter is that a very strong security presence is vital to a fair guest's positive experience.



In light of these events, some fairs have resorted to a youth policy, whereby any person under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 24 after 6 pm, with some positive results. The major challenges with this type of venture, is that it is hard to mandate and expensive to enforce. Other fairs have resorted to a mandatory gate admission and Ride All Day Pass purchase after 6pm, which is a novel idea, that may keep the troublemakers away and provide paying customers a safer experience. Time will tell how effective this strategy is.

At other events, they are examining reduced hours or opening early and closing early to reduce the opportunity for groups to come out during the “witching” hours. We have certainly noticed that shift: our customers' visitation hours are doing just that – coming earlier and leaving earlier. Maybe 20 years from now, we'll see that it will be common for a fair to open at 11 am and close at 9:00 pm. I think in the fair business, we presently open at noon and close at midnight for one simple reason – that's the way we have always done it! It might be best that we all take a strong look at our operational times and adjust to the core customer's appetite.

A formula present in Europe is to limit the number of people that are at your facility at a given time so that police and security can better control the crowd. On the outset, this seems like a good proposal, yet this has led to serious price increases at the gate and inside the event to achieve similar revenue. It is undeniable that this formula drives a better-behaved clientele and fewer security issues. However, we in the fair community have prided ourselves on being one of the last great bastions of affordability, welcoming people of every race, religion, and walk of life. For me, pricing ourselves into a realm that makes the price out of their financial reach of John Q Public does not settle well in the pit of my stomach.

Recently and on the horizon are artificial intelligence tools that can scour the internet based on keywords that can track the preplanning of these types of events. I'm not entirely aware of this type of voodoo magic, yet I do know that technology only gets better with time, which will certainly lead to a valuable tool for event and fair planners. As the face of the fair in Canada and the USA changes, so have the attendees to fairs and events.

We must make efforts to understand the needs and wants of our new fair patrons. For example, some fairs have introduced our Community Cultural Ambassadors. These Ambassadors are influential members of the community with culturally diverse backgrounds. Ambassadors engage with their community members, armed with incentives that encourage positive behavior. Although this program is only in its infancy, it is believed we are seeing encouraging results. As we continue to see societal changes, more effort, manpower and resources are being allocated to crowd management. Gaining an understanding of crowd management and ultimately crowd control is vital to the safety and enjoyment of our patrons. Without the tools, resources and training to manage patron movement and venue density, very quickly can an otherwise successful event turn into one that could end in a disaster. This is a relatively new element of safety that all fairs, if they haven't already, need to implement.

Every fair we attend is stressed with the increased cost to put on their fair and often at the top of their list is the cost of security. Something drastic has to happen with change of young people's behavioral patterns, social media must change their policies so not to post swarming events, and officers in charge of peace have to be empowered to do just that – keep the peace.