Conklin Shows

Conklin & Garrett Ltd.

Type	Privately held company
Industry	Amusement - Midway
Founded	1916
Headquarters	Brantford, Ontario
Key people	Jim Conklin (son of founder) Frank Conklin (grandson of founder)
Products	Amusement Ride rental/operation and fun fair management
Revenue	??
Employees	??
Divisions	World's Finest Shows, Conklin Supershows, Carnival Group
Website	Conklin Shows Conklins Super Shows World's Finest Shows

Conklin Shows was the largest traveling amusement corporation in North America.^[1] The 75 year-old company operated 'fun fairs' at various summer agricultural shows across North America and is based in Brantford, Ontario and West Palm Beach, FL. The company has a long history in Canada, providing entertainment for generations of kids and adults. The organization used to operate the midway services for some of Canada's largest summer fairs including the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, the Calgary Stampede, and Edmonton's Capital EX. In 2004, Conklin Shows International route and equipment were sold to North American Midway Entertainment.

Two of the remaining companies, World's Finest Shows and Conklin Super Shows, still are part of the Conklin Group of Carnival Companies. World's Finest Shows route includes more than 60 fairs, all in Ontario, Canada. They are both based in Ontario, Canada.

Conklin Shows as it was known in Canada and the US, now operates under N.A.M.E. The carnival provides the midway at fairs and exhibitions, including, Miami, Florida’s Miami-Dade County Youth Fair, Edmonton, Alberta’s Capital EX Calgary, Alberta's Calgary Stampede and Toronto, Ontario’s CNE, The Canadian National Exhibition.

History

Conklin Shows was founded by James Wesley "Patty" Conklin, (b. 1892 in Brooklyn New York and raised by adopted parents — the Conklins). He got his start as a sideshow host at Coney Island in the early 1900s. By 1915 he was running his own gambling games at various midways across the southern United States.

In 1916 Patty Conklin joined up with his adopted father and established Clark & Conklin Shows. Lasting four seasons playing at various shows around the mid west, the company folded after the death of the father.

In 1921 Patty moved the show north to play at the Winnipeg Exhibition. Due to a problems with the fair, their participation was canceled. While returning to the United States with a train car full of prize merchandise, Patty stumbled upon a show just outside of Winnipeg. They joined up with the operator of the fair, International Amusement Company and worked all of the remaining Canadian shows that year.

After working the road hosting small fairs coast to coast for 20 years, Conklin Shows bid on and won the midway contract for the 1937 Toronto Canadian National Exhibition, which the company won. The fair, one of the largest in the world, was a prized show.

Having the CNE contract helped turn it into a profitable company In the early 1950s Conklin Shows borrowed over half a million dollars and began to build permanent attractions on the CNE fairgrounds of Exhibition Place. In 1953 they constructed the Mighty Flyer, a wooden rollercoaster, that lasted until the early 1990s.

The early 1970s saw the company begin to diversify, including establishing Maple Leaf Village (now Casino Niagara) in Niagara Falls Ontario along with running a venue at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto.

In 1975 Conklin Shows biggest rival, Royal American was banned from Canada due to tax evasion. So by 1976, Conklin won all of the contracts previously held by the competitor - including the Calgary Stampede and Vancouver Pacific Exhibition.

The 80s and 90s were a time of growth for Conklin as it operated across the prairies with stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Saskatoon. It also opened up a number of smaller fairs as well as provided a schedule and route for many smaller independent shows such as Lauther Amusements and Billy Trauck Amusements. These companies although bound by contracts to the larger conklin shows operated as separate shows.

Conklin also added many of its super spectaculars, some of which are never seen north of the border. Conklin was the first to have a travelling double loop roller coaster which took 28 trailers to move. This mammoth coaster named "The Doppel Looper" only made the trip as far north as Toronto and even this was not financially feasible after the late 90s. Along other rides that were one of a kind in a travelling carnival, were the Drop of Fear, the G-Force, and The Mark 1 roller coaster.

As time progressed Conklin began to show signs of financial strain that was synonymous with the entire travelling carnival industry. Favorites such as the Zipper and Octopus as well as The Kamikaze and Rainbow were phased out and sold as cost cutting measures. Independents that had long travelled as a part of Conklin Shows were also phased out as a cost cutting measure. Finally other rides such as the Drop of Fear and the Wildcat roller coaster were phased out as cost cutting measures and allowed to be sold to competing companies and shelved in West Palm Beach.

Finally, Conklin Shows joined with the former Farrow Shows from Jackson Mississippi, Thebault-Blomsness (Astro Amusements and All Star Amusements), and former President and CEO of Ticketmaster Group, Frederic Rosen, to form the newly minted North American Midway Entertainment Co. or N.A.M.E. N.A.M.E. Website. This became official in Columbia South Carolina in 2004. In January 2006, N.A.M.E. also acquired Mid America Shows Press Release, and several contracts and rides from Cumberland Valley Shows.

N.A.M.E., a subsidiary of Stone Canyon Entertainment, with a major investment by The Cypress Group, provides fairs and events to over 145 events yearly. Now included are Cinquo de Mayo in New Orleans as well as the Dade Co. Fair, The Illinois State Fair, the Kentucky State Fair, the Dothan Peanut Festival, and the Big E Eastern States Exposition. New and more expensive rides have been added to its line-up but at the cost of many of the old favorites. Frank Conklin while owning part of N.A.M.E., has left the management of the combined company to CEO and President, Mike Williams, who has over 20 years in the carnival business, and COO & Executive Vice President Danny Huston.

Current operations

The Conklin Midway at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition.

Conklin Group is made up of two operating units: World's Finest Shows and Conklin Supershows.

This is a list of just some of the venues they provided midway services for in the past:

• Edmonton: Capital EX
• Toronto: Canadian National Exhibition
• Ottawa: Ottawa SuperEX
• Regina: Regina Exhibition Association
• Vancouver: Pacific National Exhibition
• West Palm Beach: South Florida Fair
• Miami: Dade County Youth Fair
• Calgary: Calgary Stampede

Conklin Supershows

Conklin Supershows is one of Conklin Shows' smaller sub-companies. It currently owns 19 rides.

Current Rides

• Gee Whizz
• High Flyer
• Kite Flyer
• Scrambler
• Silver Streak
• Bumper cars
• Gondola Wheel
• Chilly Willy
• Carousel
• 911-Fire Brigade
• Super Tilt-A-Whirl
• Red Baron
• The Great Western Train
• Hot Wheels
• Merry-Go-Round
• Fire Trucks
• Glass House
• Star Walk

Former Rides

• Tilt-A-Whirl
• Sea Dragon
• Dragon Castle Maze
• Super Scooter (Bumper cars)
• Clown House (Fun house)
• Emergency 911
• Victory Lap Slide
• Super Space Sled
• Super Silver Streak
• Super Bumper Cars
• Jolly Roger

World's Finest Shows

One of Conklin Shows' more successful sub-companies is the World's Finest Shows, which travels throughout Ontario, Canada. The company owns more than 40 rides and concessions.

Current Rides

World's Finest Shows' current rides are:

• Hampton Bikes
• Hampton Boats
• Hampton Volkswagens
• Hampton Cars
• Cannonball
• Bumble Bees
• Century Wheel
• Cobra Coaster
• Dizzy Dragons
• Fireball
• Hang Glider
• Fun Slide
• Haunted Mansion
• Hog Wild
• Hy-5 Wheel
• Jumping Jumbos
• Beach Party
• Merry-Go-Round 1
• Merry-Go-Round 2
• Musik Express
• Monkey Maze
• Monkey Mayhem
• Pharaoh's Fury
• Raiders
• Scooter 1800
• Scrambler
• Tilt-A-Whirl
• Tornado
• Wacky Shack
• Wacky Worm
• Wave Swinger
• Wiggle Wurm
• Zero Gravity
• Zipper

Former Rides

• Cuckoo Haus
• Central Park
• Circus Train
• Acceleration Station
• Typhoon
• Trapeze Swings
• Star Trooper
• Sizzler
• Spin Out
• Salt'N'Pepper Shakers
• Traffic Jam
• Bear Affair
• Go Gator
• Dragon Wagon
• Medieval
• Mystery Mansion
• 1001 Nachts
• Sea Dragon
• Spring Ride
• Kite Flyer
• Balloon Race
• Magic Bus
• Emergency 911
• Heartbreak Express
• The Great Western Train
• Cortina Bob
• Crazy Dance
• Victory Lap Slide
• Hampton Tubs'O'Fun
• Hampton Wave Runner
• Tsunami
• Time Machine
• Gravitron
• Super Trooper

See also

• fun fairs - About the history of travelling fairs
• Maple Leaf Village - A now defunct small amusement park in Niagara Falls Ontario.
• Canadian National Exhibition
• Exhibition Place - Toronto, site of one of the world's largest fairs
• Lake Ontario Park- Kingston

References

1. ^ "Telescope: Patty Conklin". CBC.ca. CBC Archives. http://archives.cbc.ca/lifestyle/leisure/clips/14937/. Retrieved 6 September 2011. 

External links

• Conklin Shows Official Web Site - Conklin Shows Official Web Site.
• Supershows Official Web Site - Supershows Official Web Site (associated with Conklin Shows).
• World's Finest Shows Official Web Site - World's Finest Shows Official Web Site.
• Central Canada Exhibition - The early history of the Central Canada Exhibition (Ottawa), with many historical photos of Conklin Shows.
• Northlands Park - Edmonton - History of Conklin Shows in Edmonton
• Canadian Association of Fairs
• The Virtual Museum of Canada - A selection of original historical posters for Conklin exhibitions.

Multimedia

• CBC Archives Patty Conklin gives a tour of the CNE with CBC Radio (1958)
• CBC Archives CBC Television story about Patty Conklin (1971).
• CBC Television - Life and Times special - CBC Television special, The Life and Times of Patty Conklin.

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