A ROCKWELL AMUSEMENTS carnival ride is nearly ready for operation, as seen on Monday.
It was the day before the annual Topsham Fair, and crews from Rockwell Amusements tended to the final details, scrubbing down the Tilt-a-Whirl and attending to the final details of the midway rides as Latin music beats filled the air.
Food trucks touting everything from fried dough to Philippine foods were still being towed into their slots and the air was not yet rich with the scent of all things fried. Even in the animal exhibitions, only a penned heard of sheep starred out at workers scurrying to get the show on the road for Tuesday.
Near the entrance, a crew from Jaiden Landscaping were on their hands and knees, removing weeds and debris from flower beds near the exhibition barns.
Overseeing the midway for Rockwell Amusements was Carmella White, manager for 20 years for owner Harold Ferra. White said the Rhode Island amusement company has been a fixture at the Topsham Fair for more than 20 years.
“Everything is actually going great — everything is looking great,” White said of setup.
She said the ride inspectors were on site site that morning making sure everything checks out.
“Everybody’s scrubbing down the rides and getting ready for opening at noontime Tuesday, so we’re ready,” White said.
White said the fair dates changed a couple years ago to run the midway from Tuesday to Sunday instead of Monday to Saturday.
White said the company is enjoying a great season, “We’ve had great weather and everybody was ready to get out of the house after that long winter so everybody’s been coming out and having a good time.”
Secreted away in the darkened 4-H exhibition building, Cathy Gray of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Carolyn Foley judged several different projects from kids around the region.
Gray said, “Kids are judged only against themselves and so based on their age and how long they’ve been in a project, we take into consideration to decide if they are progressing through their learning experience in 4-H.”
Foley said, “We have some photography, we have some kinds of stitching — paperwork.” Foley said, “We’ve got some really young members doing some really fabulous things.”
From quilts, to horseshoe clocks to a display showing the various parts of a knife, it all seemed stock for what an outsider might expect from 4- H, but Gray said the organization has also moved into leadership and science.
“We are not just animals so in our county we have a science club and we have an outdoor adventure club and this year we have had a robotics club,” Gray said.
Harness racing was set to begin at 5 p.m. Monday with a full day of events scheduled for Tuesday including the midway, oxen pulling and music on the various stages.
dmcintire@timesrecord.com
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