Big E midway workers travel thousands of miles yearly for unique 'family' lifestyle
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Here is Aryn Geekie’s life: work part of the year at a nightclub at home in South Africa, spend nine months running rides across North America at fairs like the Big E. “I like to see the new places, get to travel, get to hang out with a bunch of people,” said Geekie, 26. Geekie, Cynthia and Carlie King and Danielle Handrahan gave a glimpse Thursday into life managing the midway at a major fair in an experience they all said was like a family. Their current stop is the 17-day Big E fair at the Eastern States Exposition that wraps up Sunday. Read More
Carnies add foreign flavour
EDMONTON - Adrian Beelders adds a little drama to the Polar Express ride at the Capital Ex with classic DJ smooth-talking, asking riders, "Do you wanna go faster?" before he sends the ride to a higher speed. If you listen closely, you can hear his South African accent. The 25-year-old hails from Cape Town and has been operating the Polar Express for three years. Read More
South Africans break ‘carny’ stereotype
REGINA – They’re young, ambitious, and typically not what we associate with being a so-called “carny.” Of the more than four hundred workers operating the rides, games, and food stands for North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) at the Queen City Ex, 130 of them are from South Africa. Read More
Carnival Crew Melting Pots: South Africans, Mexicans"
After a canoe trip on a free day along the Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska, three Chinese students and a Slovak student are part of the international carnival crew at Golden Wheel. "Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart." Confucius All three of my bunkhouse roommates in Alaska are Native Alaskans - describing themselves as Aleutian, Athabaskan and Kenaitze Carny quarters in Chugiak and Fairbanks are a mix of languages, including Albanian, Cantonese/Mandarin, Hawaiian, Jamaican Patois, Samoan and Slovak. Read More