We are a Family of Serious Carnival Freaks... I think we could have easily been Carnies in fact! *Winks* There's just something about a Carnival Atmosphere that is exhilerating and brings out the Inner Child in me like nothing else! The Atmosphere is Electrifying and Festive... Fantasy come to Life, but in a Cheezy way that is so Over-The-Top as to be absurd and exaggerated, like an Alice In Wonderland Adventure.
Being an Artist I have always been drawn to the Art in the Carnivals... from the Amazing Carousel Animals...
Source: Party Invites ~ Etsy.com
To the Carnival Style Font and Advertisements...
And the most amazing Graphic Art everywhere you look... often surrounded by Lights and loud Music to totally overload the Senses.
And so when I Discovered a Blog that was Celebrating all that epitomizes Carnivals, Side-Shows, Fun Houses, Midways, Circus, Boardwalks and the like... well, I'm all in! So Welcome to my Contribution to the LE MYSTERIEUX CARNIVAL PARTY 2012 being Hosted by Anna & Marfi.
So here's your Ticket to Join us... and there's a Blog Party Button Link on my Sidebar that will also take you Directly to the Party... so come on, watcha waitin' for? *Winks*
Some of our most Memorable Family Activities revolve around attending Local Carnivals and State Fairs... no matter how large or obscure the Venue, we just have to stop in and participate! From the tiny Seasonal Carnivals set up in a Parking Lot over a weekend to the Huge State Fair Hosted every year... and the Church or Grade School Fair Fundraisers... we'll be there and Enjoying every minute of it!
Yeah, the Food is a Coronary waiting to happen... but at least you'll go out with a huge Smile on your Face! The Indian Fry Bread is my Personal Favorite... make mine with just the Honey and Powdered Sugar on top Please! Carnival Food is just that naughty indulgence that even a disciplined Health Nut cannot usually resist! Not that I have firsthand experience of being a disciplined Health Nut mind you... but I've seen them there right beside me... those Toned Cabana Boy Studmuffins and Curvy Workout Goddesses... ordering all the same mouthwatering artery clogging Delights during the Carnival Experience! *LOL*
Seriously... are you going to partake in a Salad Bar before you arrive so that you won't be Tempted by the GIANT Curly Fries piled in a heaping twisted fried Junk Food eyegasm?! I thought not...
The Vivid Colors and Carny Art that covers all of the Midway Rides... {See... I told you The Man and I DO look like a Couple of Seasoned Old Carnies now don't we? LOL}
The Midway Games with their Bonanza of Cheezy Prizes you desperately wanna Win on what you clearly know are rigged Games... so you spend a small Fortune trying to 'Score' something you know would only cost a dollar and fifty cents at some Thrift Store! *LOL* But earning that Title of Ninja Skilled Midway Game Super Hero for a Day in front of your Date... Kids... Grandkids... Spouse... Relatives or Friends is PRICELESS right?!? *Winks*
And my Personal Favorite... the Vintage Fortune Telling Machines!!! I SOOOOO want one of these one day in my Private Collection here at Home!
You don't see them so much anymore... but I remember them so well and I Loved getting my Fortune read by the Spooky Animatronic Gypsies!
Source: Bing Images
Who doesn't remember Tom Hanks getting his read by the Zoltan~Zoltar Machine in the Movie "Big"?
And though the Carnival Prizes my Grandchildren now Win on the Midway look something like this... and they're totally Gaga about... My Kids used to Win the likes of 5 foot Stuffed Animals {The Son} and Dime Goldfish {The Youngest Daughter} that shouldda croaked prematurely given the dismal odds stacked against them... but would somehow last for YEARS in our Aquarium and end up the size of Japanese Koi... so that when they did croak, they couldn't be flushed, they HAD to be buried as Fish Fertilizer under the Old Tamarack Trees! *LOL*
Source: Bing Images
I was fortunate enough that most of my Childhood Carnival Memories go back to the European Carnivals we attended when we were Nomadic Worldwide Travelers. And the Midway Prizes were the Classic Cheezy Brightly Colored Chalkware, Mismatched China or even Toilet Paper Rolls with Rabbit Fur glued on and a pair of Roly-Poly Plastic Eyes so that it looked like a mini 'Cousin It' from the Addams Family Series! *The Toilet Paper Rabbit Fur 'Cousin Its' were my Favs and I had a large Collection of them as a Child & Young Teen in fact! God I Wish I'd never gotten rid of them!*
Source: HapMoore.com
And my Mom still recalls the Era when yes, Carnival Glass {which is now a highly coveted Collectible} was given out as the Midway Prizes! They came in an array of irredescent Hues... the Marigold being my Favorite... but all of it always caught my Eye and so I began Collecting it before it was highly sought after and procured some great pieces whilst in Europe! Of coarse, since my European Mom remembered it being Cheap Carnival Ware she was mortified that I considered it as Collectible as say her Rosenthal, Royal Doulton or Wedgwood... and worse, that I even preferred it to the 'Good Stuff'! *Gasp!*
Source: Bing Images
And I still recall the Era when every Carnival had a Great Sideshow and Freak Show that went along with it. Folks with Unusual Gifts or abnormalities could earn a good living just traveling with the Carnival Circuit... and of coarse there were the Gaffs. Now with Political Correctness more the Norm you don't see so many or people being as comfortable to pay admission to see the 'Strange People'. But I Confess, it was always one of my very favorite parts of the Carnival Experience and I'm kinda Sad that my G-Kids won't get as much of an opportunity to see a Good Sideshow or Freak Show... because I don't truly believe that people are any less Curious or amazed about such things as they ever were.
Its True... most folks Love these Carnivals & Shows... and everything they have come to be known for as much as any previous Generation has... and I suspect will continue to Love them far into the Future...
And if you've Enjoyed coming to our Carnival as much as I Enjoyed Presenting it to you... I Hope you will go visit all of the other Participants of LE MYSTERIEUX CARNIVAL PARTY 2012... and join all of the other Carnival Lovers and Freaks during this Carnival Week!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian