Strathmore hopeful of carnival return

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

West Coast Amusement rolled onto the Strathmore & District Agricultural Society’s grounds – and despite the cool temperatures, there were lots of smiles from lots of young kids that were enjoying rides and the midway food.
Buzz Kimble, a representative with West Coast Amusement, thought it is a tough sell in smaller towns as these carnivals are meant for the bigger centres, but liked the space that the Strathmore had to offer.
“You see how much it is to set-up a big carnival, otherwise we’d have to go to a smaller mall,” said Kimble. “We usually go for the big towns because we have more people and everything – in small towns you don’t get that much.”
Kimble added that Strathmore had a great atmosphere surrounding the event.
“It’s great, you’ve got the park, the baseball game, everything,” he said.
Local attendee Tammy Heinzlmeir would like to see this entertainment come around to Strathmore more often, as she thinks it’s a great way to promote the town and the future of bigger events in the area.
“It doesn’t happen very often, it’s a big deal,” she said.
Heinzlmeir felt that this carnival would be better on a weekend for a crowd and it took some convincing for her kids to go on the rides.
“They had to be broken in but they’re fun,” said Heinzlmeir.
Her son, Jacob, just finished his fifth time on the Spring Ride where he felt scared but really enjoyed it at the same time.
“It’s exciting, I (also) like the bumper cars because you get to bump into people,” said Jacob.
He added that he would like to see the carnival come back more often because then he can do all the rides he wants.
Strathmore & District Agricultural Society General Manager Herb McLean thinks the carnival’s appearance in town bodes well for the possibility of it coming to the Strathmore Stampede in the very near future.
“We know there is an appetite for carnivals in town,” said McLean. “We know that from exit interviews from the Stampede and Heritage Days from a year ago.”
He emphasized that this was more of a testing period to give it a try before any future commitments are made.
“We’re unable to attract one still for the Stampede and Heritage Days,” said McLean. “We wanted to have the outlet, we wanted to give it a try. We wanted to hopefully have one the park. He’s (WCA manager) happy with the set-up, it’s a pilot if you will and an experiment.”
There is nothing but positivity that McLean sees with the carnival and he hopes it comes back twice a year.
“There were lots of kids, that’s the great thing about it, no line-ups and it’s comfortable,” said McLean. “You’re not standing for 20 minutes waiting for a ride.”