A game of popping balloons with darts for prizes—a common part of a carnival or fair midway
A midway at a
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
(commonly an
American fair such as a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
or
state fair) is the location where
carnival games,
amusement rides,
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
,
dime stores, themed events, exhibitions and
trade shows,
pleasure gardens,
water parks and
food booths cluster. The midway is located between the entrance and the big top of a
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
; thus, a carnival is essentially a travelling midway.
Origin
The term originated from the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
held in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois, in 1893. It was the first
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
with an
area for amusements which was strictly separated from the exhibition halls. This area, which was concentrated on the city's
Midway Plaisance created for the Exposition, included
amusement rides (among them the original
Ferris Wheel),
belly dancers, balloon rides,
concession stands, and other attractions.
After the Exposition, the term ''midway'' came into use as a common noun in the United States and Canada to refer to the area for amusements at a county or
state fair,
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
,
festival
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
, or
amusement park.
[http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/midway ]
Attractions
Attractions that have been found in midways throughout history include the following:
*
Concession stands selling a variety of different types of food and drink including fruit, pastries, pies, wine, lemonade, popcorn, ice cream, confectionery, and fairy floss
*
Carnival games, including various
games of skill,
games of chance, and cons (such as
three-card Monte and the
shell game)
*
Carnival rides such as the
Ferris wheel and
carousel
*
Sideshows such as illusion shows,
menageries, wax shows, and
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
See also
*
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival (American English), usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show (British English), is an amusement show that may be made up of List of amusement rides, amusement rides, food vendors, merchandi ...
*
Family entertainment center
*
Sideshow alley
*
Showbag
*
Tekiya
*
Carny
References
{{Reflist
External links
Chicago's Midway Plaisance Walking Tour websiteCarnivalMidways.Com - Directory of Carnival Midway's in the U.S and Canada
Carnival games