Billings firm to run fair carnival

The Great Northern Fair Board has tapped a Billings-based carnival for next year’s Great Northern Fair.

All five board members present agreed to the one-year contract with Dreamland Entertainment for the annual fair, scheduled for July 20-24.

There are two vacancies on the board following the departure of Lori Roberts who stepped down in November before moving out of Hill County, and the death of Alma Seidel, the board’s chair in October.

Dreamland, known by the name of its parent company, North Star Amusements, has provided rides and games to the carnival held each May in the parking lot of Holiday Village Mall, board member Missy Boucher said.

They have been contracted to do fairs in Lewiston and Wolf Point.

Boucher, who sits on the board’s carnival committee, said North Star is using an alternate name, so as not to make the Gallatin_County Fair in Bozeman, whose is scheduled for that same weekend, think they are backing out of their deal with them.

The number of rides are not written into the contract, Boucher said, but added that she was told there will be 15 rides. A zipper will not be among the rides, but they will include a super sizzler, a ring of fire, a high roller and a merry-go-round, among others.

Brown Amusement, the carnival used for the past three fairs, pulled out of Montana after this year’s fair failed to turn a significant profit, due to poor ticket sales and bad weather, Boucher said.

Brown received criticism following last year’s fair for not having rides for older fairgoers.

The contract, with the exception of location and date, is identical to the one drafted by Dreamland to Lewistown and Wolf Point.

Boucher said the contract stipulates that the fair board will receive 10 percent of the money garnered from ticket sales from carnival rides, once Dreamland’s expenses are covered.

Under the arrangement, the fair will not be able to make money off of games and food either, except 10 percent from local food booths, Boucher said,

For the past three years, the fair board received 32 percent of the carnival’s revenue, which was reduced to 30 last year, Boucher said.

Business between Dreamland and the Great Northern Fair for 2017 and beyond will be contingent upon the fair’s ability to turn a profit this year, she said.

“It’s something we have to figure out how we can build back up on,” Boucher said. “If we can prove we can have good years again, then we can flip the tables on ’em and say ‘hey, we brought you what you needed, now give us something of what we need.’”