Tricia Vita

I set off for Coney Island on the first Saturday of summer, when King Neptune and Queen Mermaid turn a giant key in the Atlantic to “open the ocean” for the season, to the delight of a half million mortals who come for the annual Mermaid Parade. Islands Magazine

Steve, Mike,and John Dobson have a way with games. As teenagers they operated the slot car racing game at the Canadian National Exhibition--which sucked them into the industry. Since then they've had a knack for creating fun, winnable, and visually enthralling midway games. IAAPA Funworld Magazine

This battle of widths is one of 15 regional qualifiers for the "big dance"---Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest (quite a mouthful). Though Jarvis, Lerman and Lipsitz may sound like a law firm, these guys are the Three Musketeers of the competitive-eating circuit, and I'm here to watch them in action. Holiday Inn Express Navigator Magazine

Last November, a team from Butler Rogers Baskett Architects pulled an all-nighter at the New York Design Center. Their mission: to build a 10-foot-long hot dog balanced inside a bun and two nearly 8-foot tall condiment bottles out of canned food. A mind-boggling 6,394 cans, to be precise. It was far from an ordinary workday for these five employees of a firm whose clients include the Chelsea Piers sports complex and the jeweler Cartier.

Games Magazine

Childhood trips to a wholesale house of carnival prizes in Boston inspire an interest in Japan and Japanese writing. Boston Review

Having a father who earned his living selling popcorn at carnivals made life a lot more interesting than school. Yankee Magazine

Seasoned sword swallowers open up about their death-defying profession. Games Magazine

Legendary circus families bring high-thrill entertainment to parks. IAAPA Funworld Magazine

Like Don Quixote de La Mancha, woodcarver Gerry Holzman has dared to dream an impossible dream: the creation of one of the first all-hand-carved carousels since the 1930s, when the aluminum horse galloped onto the scene. Art & Antiques Magazine

In 1988, Jim Secreto bought his first sideshow banner: a visually arresting image of The Human Blockhead, a turbaned fakir with spikes hammered up his nostrils and pins piercing his tongue. Nine years and 35 banners later, Secreto's collection of carnival curiosities has entered the rarefied realm of 20th-century folk art. 

Art & Antiques Magazine

Four students from Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center are paving the way for a new generation of extraordinary interactive and technology-driven experiences. IAAPA Funworld Magazine

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Within earshot of the frenetic midway, children of traveling carnival workers are getting a serious education. Education Week

An informal poll of amusement industry manufacturers and suppliers reveals an influx of career-changers who yearn to travel and own their own business, working as much or as little as they like. Amusement Business Magazine

In Appleton, Wisconsin, Houdini Elementary School is named after the local boy who grew up to become the world's greatest escape artist. The school's colors are the same as those on the famous magician's cape: red and black. If anything disappears, they blame Harry.

Games Magazine

Connecticut's puzzle palace was built in 1919 at a cost of about $1 million, a kingly sum in those days. Its sole architect was the actor-director-playwright William Gillette, who made his fortune originating the stage role of Sherlock Holmes. Stagebill

A developer has plans for a former asylum beside Manhattan. Preservation 

Are Quonsets, steel hangar-like huts left over from WW II, worth preserving?
Preservation