A documentary on the daily life of a carnival with Herr Family Shows. A unique insight on its workers and what it takes to put together a carnival for the enjoyment of their patrons in each town that is visited.
I miss the carnivals from the 80s. They played heavy metal on the rides and Michael Jackson and the prizes were cool. Remember the mirrored pictures? Good old days.
Hell yeah the mirrors with the cardboard framing I remember like Van Halen 1984 album cover ones. Or Twisted Sister or the Golden Ring Toss that would have the $10 bills or the handcuffs. And then that design Booth where you could get like a custom made bubble jet ink onto like a pennant banner type material? You know what I'm talkin about probably
I am sadned by new laws that are taking the ride operator jobs to seasonal alein workers it makes it no fun anymore they are not friendly they are zombies now with a vest and a hard hat
Life on the road is tough, it takes a very special type of person to do this the majority of society can't do what carnies do. For anywhere from typically 7-9 months you bust your ass. You get no days off, little time off, little sleep, and and are always working. Not to mention you are either going from motel to motel or staying in a bunkhouse which is a very tight space with very little privacy, I have also sleeped under my ride or in my game when I didn't have a bunkhouse and in the old days that's how everyone did it. Very little fuck ups can lead to you getting your ass beat by your boss or crew. Everyone hates carnies, marks think you are a looser drug addict, everyone judges you when you leave the lot. The pay sucks just about everything else sucks but it gets in your blood and after a while your crew becomes your family and the Midway becomes your home. It's not a job its a way of life and I would still be out there but I moved on in life to make a better life for my future kid and am now working construction. With it for it never against it
a carnie has many hats to wear. a mechanic. a sales person. a clown. buisnessmen (and women). construction. etc...!!! it takes a special kind of person with a high tolerance level who basically loves people.
It worked With a carnival for a year in the 90’s, its very hard work, the pay is low, but the traveling was nice and seeing the excitement on the faces of all of the kids and people each night was great, and as someone stated below that carnies all have body odor, that isn’t true of everyone, I was clean everyday, it’s the respect you have for yourself.
Their is a passenger who rides my bus and he is an old Carnie guy. His parents were Carnie folks to and they had him on the road. He is a really nice wonderful guy.
I worked and traveled with a carnival in mn when I was 16 early 90s. Worked a game on percentage made about 400 a week. It was a rough life but now I'm a trucker.
When I was younger and worked the carnival, we played two fairs a week during the months of July and August. So that meant we had over night jumps to make. We played a Monday thru Wednesday fair, tore down, got in the trucks and moved the show to the next spot, got some sleep then set up to open Thursday evening for a Thursday thru Sunday fair. The idea for that was to play enough fairs in hopes to make enough money to carry us through the winter. Yes, we were very tired and some were very grumpy because of little sleep. I might add that the lot man didn't have a tape measure to lay out the lot with. He did it by stepping it off and locating the rides and joints. Now days many of the rides are trailer mounted making it easier and quicker to set up and tear down. Today's midways are not flashed like they used to be. They use vinyl stickers to make the ride look flashy. We painted the flash on by hand but that's become a lost art now too. Most show owners don't know this. When Bruce Sellner was alive he made the paint color available to all show owners. He made his "Sellner Blue" color available at all NAPA stores so they could always paint the "Tilt-A-Whirl" factory colors. I still have an original flyer from Sellner that had all the old clowns, stripes and designs that Sellner used on the Tilt. My plan was to scan them into the computer so they could be used again on the Tilt-A-Whirls again. Drug use? We didn't use drugs and there are probably more drug abusers in the communities than there is on the show. Carnies are always under the most scrutiny because of the stereo type they received way back before we were even born. Background checks and random drug testing takes place on the carnival too. Alcohol? We weren't allowed to have a beer or a drink until AFTER the show closed with NO exceptions! I wish I could tell you more but I have to go.
@@ooocarniegirlooo We didn't call them Circus jumps because we were a Carnival. Therefore we called them over nighters because there is a difference between a Carnival and a Circus!
@@lilmuscledude2003 are you kidding me a circus jump means when you have a short period between jumps and a lot of work to do it's a figure of speech - carnie talk on my show. Geez DUDE!
+Richard Cardone Guess it takes one to know one. Bet you can't name another profession yeah profession where the employees work so hard to make the pittance they earn. And Sam Vimes, you don't want to be a carnie I promise. IE not Y fyi.
I worked wit a carnival in the 19 and 80s. I slept up under the Carousel at nighttime. Had me a little TV up under there. Plenty of liquor and women too. Hit wuz better din dis place I got now. Wuz there for 17 years.
we were kids in the burbs of Chicago and as we got close to getting on the OCTOPUS i told my friend jimmy " i hope we dont get number 7!" "why? asked jim" cause something bad happened in that one." the carnie then said " the same thing that has happened in all the other ones!!!"
I thought about becoming a traveling carnival worker when I was younger. But I'm 40 now, and I'm afraid I'm too old. That for the teenagers and twentysomethings.
I'm a showman (I do games) all of my crew is older than 40. one is 65! you're not too old. if you were to do it, you'd be surprised what you can be capable of.
who is hireing for next season? im ready to go back to to the carny life but want to make better mo0ney! ive worked with Johnny reed,murphy bros, and geran rides out of Georgia ,
Is the money really worth it though. What do you guys make a week between three and five hundred would be my guess. You have to live rough. Your out in the heat all day. It's hard heavy work. If you like to travel there are smarter ways to do it. Why not work for a company that will pay for your hotel rooms instead of living in old trailers. There are jobs in telecommunications that will pay per diem on top of your pay. And there is plenty of room for advancement. And you can travel all year instead of just for a season and then have to find more work when you return home.
Hey you don't know something woodway no on koel Bird shows here you gave a quarter surcharge and you give that guy with the ponytail head and the children were involved
i miss my hometown of 1000 ppl carnival out in the middle of the sticks. The place had a stench of losers, thieves, criminals, vagrants, rip-offs and dirtballs