The Grand Carousel is the centerpiece of the midway, with 60 colorful horses in rows of four, bobbing up and down to the calliope sounds that fill the air. “It’s the largest portable one they make,” says Rick Reithoffer, general manager of Reithoffer Shows, which provides rides for the fair. While most carousels only have three rows of horses, he notes, “on ours, all four rows are jumping.”
Take the family-friendly Tilt-A-Whirl for a spin. This year’s ride has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, but with the same lap-bar-grabbing, stomach-churning thrills that have whirled together fairgoers for generations. “It’s a classic family thrill ride,” Reithoffer says. “That was a big ride in your grandfather’s time.”
A music-pumping, lights-flashing, everybody-screaming favorite, the Himalaya roars along through foggy hills at breakneck speeds. “It’s the most popular ride we have,” Reithoffer says. “We always joke that it’s a good ride to bring your date on because it will slide her right over to you.”
Not into rides? Try your hand at the midway games for a chance to win big.