ASSOCIATION ON THE EARIE
On The Earie Tom Powell, OABA News Ambassador I
t takes one to know one, so it was made abundantly clear how special Brad Ribar’s roasted corn operation at the Minnesota State Fair is, as if every- body didn’t already know, when Michael Kramer, who has the same type op- eration at the Miami-Dade County Fair, heaped praise on it.
Kramer took over the Miami opera- tion that was started in 1971 by his grandfather, Eddie Perls, 15 years ago. It is always one of the top grossing food stands at Miami, according to conces- sion manager Patty Dee. “In my mind, it’s still his stand and I run it for him,” said Kramer, who added that he started working there at the age of 11. “I spent a few days in Minnesota and was over- whelmed within the first five minutes.” Kramer and I had talked on several occasions about the two corn kings get- ting together and discussing their simi- lar highly-successful operations. “I’m glad you pushed me to go to Minnesota and visit with Brad Ribar. I picked up a few things I might do in Miami. Nothing against the others, but Minnesota is truly the gold standard for fairs,” he stated emphatically.
Kramer said he had a very good run in Syracuse at the New York State Fair, after two rough years there. At Syracuse, Kramer booked two tater tot stands, one for blooming onions, and three for lem- onade. “I’m making a new stand out of a shipping container. Food concessionaire Tom Hodson did the buildup for me. It’s a 20-foot cargo container and I plan to build at least two more.” From New York, Kramer set up his tater tots at the North Georgia State Fair in Marietta. After that, he planned to have one unit at the Georgia National Fair and Pensacola, FL Interstate, while the second unit played the State Fair of Virginia and North Carolina State Fair. “It’s important to have a good crew when you set up two units and we use
8 OABA ShowTime Magazine | NOVEMBER 2018
all American workers, most of whom have been with me for many years.” Concerning the whole season, Kramer stated, “This has been one of our better years. The economy has turned around and it’s been positive for everybody.” According to Jerry Hammer, who has been general manager in St. Paul for 22 years, this year’s food gross, not counting beer and other beverages, was an astounding $41.9 million. Beer sales accounted for another $13.4 million. The number one food vendor with three locations was Sweet Martha’s chocolate chip cookies. Next was Dave Cavallaro with cheese curds, $1.35 mil- lion, and third was Ribar with roasted corn, $1.04 million. The gross for corn dogs from a dozen vendors totaled $2.2 million, and the Midwest Dairy Association grossed $885,000. Fred Pittroff and his daughter, Stacey Barona, with the Giant Slide, grossed $460,000, less than one percent less than last year. “And this was the rainiest fair I can ever remember. Business for that slide is dead if there’s just a little mist, so their numbers are even more remark- able,” said Hammer.
Hammer said visitors included the British Ambassador to the U.S. “He spent about an hour here. His people took him to the airport, came back and stayed for the entire next day. We had six people from the Netherlands Embassy and 20 journalists from the World Press indus- try. A guy from Romania told me we have a giant music festival, which we do, with more than 400 acts. A lady from Russia said we have a food festival. People from all over just want to have fun. We all want to share a fun, happy experience. “Some suggest we change the name
from fair, but I like the Great Minnesota Get Together. They’ll come for the agriculture, music, rides, food, and rain doesn’t stop them.” Jim Sinclair, deputy GM at St. Paul,
said the total Midway/Kidway ride and gross revenue was $7,133, 468. Those figures don’t include the Giant Big Wheel of Michael Wood and Frank Zaitshik; Giant Slide of Pittroff and Barona; Haunted House, Sky Glider, Space Tower, Old Mill, Skyride, and at- tractions presented in Adventure Park. The top 10 rides were the Crazy Mouse Spinning Roller Coaster, owned by Steve Vander Vorste; Starship, Kyle Wisdom’s Laser Fair; Sky Flyer, Reithoffer Shows; New York New York Fun House, Joey Weaver’s Fair Ride Entertainment, with Gloria and Bobby Myers; Air Maxx, Mr. Ed’s Magical Midway, Mariah Duchow; Wave Swinger, Joey Weaver; Equinox, Kyle Wisdom; Tilt, Michael and Thomas Lauther; and Haunted Castle Dark Ride, Fair Ride Entertainment. In the games department, Candy
Anderson was both number one and two with Bottle Up and Goblets, and four with Goblets. Gary Oren Concessions was third with long range basketball, and fifth with a second long range. Michael Winchester was sixth with a Star Dart. Cassata Concessions, run by Jack Cook and Tony Cassata, was seventh with a Whopper Water Race, and eighth with a Rising Waters Race. Ninth, with Milk Cans, were Dave and Monica Potopas, and tenth with Skeeball was John L. Magel, Sr. of Magel Concessions. Before talking to Hammer I had received an e-mail from Cavallaro, who always has the first booth on the left as you enter the IISA trade show each February. His purpose there is selling lemonade stands called E-Lemon-Aders. “We were very busy and had a great run at the Great Minnesota Get Together. The staff there really puts on a show like no other, and it just keeps getting bigger and better every year.” “To quote Jerry Hammer as I ran into him when it was over, he joked about the fair, saying he thinks this thing is
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