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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2002)
Be sure to play midway games Wise carnival-goers might warn the uninitiated not to walk too close to any of the booths along the midway, for fear of running the risk of getting drawn into a game and giving their spendy tickets to a fast-talk ing worker (don’t call them “camies,” they don’t like that). Of course, the point of the Funtastic Car nival at the Lane County Fair is spend ing money on frivolous games, so take a risk, if you like to pop balloons or go on the popular rides. The Funtastic Carnival is “just possibly... the world’s first carni val,” as its slogan reads. Fair spokesman Ron Burback, who worked at the information booth, is a lot like a human ency clopedia, and is well-placed. Burback, upon request, impart ed a little carnival history. Funtastic has been around since 1969, and started working the Lane County Fair about 10 years ago. Burback explained that the fair and the carnival are at their best together. Burback said the first carnival took place in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Daley Reporter It was at the Exposition that Harry Houdini performed for the first time. Houdini (Ehrich Weiss) per formed with his friend Jacob Hy man in an act they called “The Brothers Houdini.” Back in the early 1900s, some carnivals also featured semi-nude females dancing in the midway, which no longer has a place in the family-oriented entertainment of current fairs. The days of Houdini and the dancing girls have given way to today’s mechanized rides, which get riders giddy with adrenaline, and help pass the days in the ago nizing sun. The “Sling Shot” is a two-person ride that is exactly as it sounds. If you like this one, go ahead and sign up for NASA’s astronaut pro gram because this will test your equilibrium — if you like that sort of thing. Watch out, though, it’s $50 for two people! For a good scream, and maybe a few shoulder or shin bruises, try the ever popular “Zipper,” which rapidly spins happy fairgoers in a Ferris-wheel-type rig with cages instead of benches. Each cage flips the rider upside-down and around, turning independently of the enormous contraption whirring around. Highest recom mendations, but acrophobes should skip this one. One of the more popular rides for children and gooey romantics is still the Ferris wheel, which is pret ty much the same wherever you go. Mini-children might want to fry RECYCLE/ J COMPOST/ I GARBAGE f Adam Jones Emerald Waste centers located around the Lane County Fairgrounds provide disposal and recycling services for the visitors throughout the event. Adam Jones Emerald Try your luck at Skee-Ball or throwing rings; the midway offers a plethora of gaming booths and carnival rides for the fair purist. the relatively new “Dragon Wag on,” which gives the impression of a roller coaster in training or a large toy train set. However, it isn’t just the rides or the games — sometimes chil dren just eye the prizes and try to knock down a few pins if they see something they like. One child was tempted to pop a few bal loons by the lure of a chrome tri cycle, but his dad pulled him away from the game. This is the kind of sight that makes carnival workers sigh, as they are constantly scanning the passing hubbub for fresh business. Some of them watch just for kicks, rather than for business prospects. Sabrina McNamara, a carnival worker, said her favorite part of the job was “people watching,” but that she hadn’t seen a lot of people com ing to the games in the midway. The wild rides might be more of a draw at the midway carnival. There are a few carnival ticket specials for the savvy folk. Thurs day and Friday the “Kiddie Ride Special,” offers carnival ride bracelets for $18 until 5 p.m. Contact the reporter atjilliandaley@dailyemerald.com. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Officials strive to educate public, reduce waste at Lane County Fair By Jan Montry Oregon Daily Emerald Lane County Waste Management and the city are continuing a recy cling campaign to educate the public and reduce waste at the Lane County Fair. Campaign organizers hope that through this program, their main goal of zero percent waste will be achieved in five to seven years. This year, the program is in part nership with Sanipac and Rexius to help recycle and compost materials from the fair. Lane County’s waste reduction specialist Pete Chism said many peo ple don’t realize a lot of materials used at the fair — such as napkins, chopsticks and vegetable waste —can be recycled or composted. “The whole idea is to instruct a thought process to get you to zero waste,” he said. Chism added that running the cam paign at the Lane County Fair is chal lenging because many vendors come from other areas and aren’t accus tomed to recycling. This lack of recy cling experience makes it difficult to instruct vendors to avoid waste. Another obstacle for the program is the availability of biodegradable plastics for vendors. Although these plastics are available, companies providing them are frequently out of stock. “We’re patient in that we’re wait ing for biodegradable foodwares to become a commodity in this area,” Chism said. At the fair, volunteers are running two different recycling stations in or der to educate people as they recycle. These education and recycling vol unteers are essential to the program because they inform others about re cycling and composting. “I think the most important thing about recycling at any event is that you get to talk to thousands of peo ple,” Chism said. “You show people there is a lot of caring in this commu nity about the environment. ” In addition to the manned recycle stations, more volunteer crews are collecting additional recycling and picking up trash on the fairgrounds. University Campus Recycling pro gram manager Karyn Kaplan, who is helping with the campaign, said edu cation is the most important aspect of any recycling system. “The key is making sure eveiybody watches the recycling stations,” she said. “You must have consistency in the system.” Contact the reporter at janmontry@dailyemerald.com. Los Angeles artist set to visit Eugene Tamaras, a musician on tour promoting her newest CD, will make a local appearance Aug. 23 Passion, music and sweetness will visit downtown Eugene on Aug 23. Guitarist, vocalist and songstylist Tamaras (her last name is Oshea, but Tamaras is her stage name) is scheduled to play at 10 p.m., Aug. 23 at Joe’s Bar and Grill, located on 21 West 6th Ave. Tamaras plays acoustic guitar and writes her own music. She also plays lead guitar in a rock trio with bassist Hideaki Kazui and drummer Zoltan Szentkiralyi for a heavier sound. Born in Hollywood, California, the Los Angeles-based musician is touring solo to promote her new CD and play a few favorites. Tamaras will visit old haunts on the West Coast after playing spots across the country. The tour kicked off in Sacramento and will move all the way up to the Alaska Women’s Mu sic Festival in Anchorage. Tamaras’ latest album, “Ordinary Super Girl,” is a live, acoustic recording of songs like “Wish U the World,” “Millionaires,” “Bethany” and “Good Night,” which fans can purchase when they catch her act and take it home, or listen to it live, as the album represents the main sets for the tour. She will also be a featured per former at SummerFest in Port An geles; Washington, and at'(the Her i ' land Retreat in Oklahoma City. Tamaras’ music is wild, warming and cathartic. Her lyrics are inspir ingly complex. The music’s power and the word ing’s passion combines to create mov ing lines like “Please don’t say you can’t see any beauty here,” in “Mil lionaires.” The song submerges inside the deeper emotions, and questions those who can see nothing extraordi nary or pleasureable in the world. Tamaras sees it, and she presents her tender tunes Aug 23. Tickets for the concert cost $2. For further information see www.tamarasrocks.com. Contact the reporter atjilliandaley@dailyemerald.com. *1 v w♦>r*Vf h’», wi », i *,«. i, i. Courtesy Photo
