Having arrived in Columbus at 3:30 a.m., William Purdy is working on a few hours of sleep.
As he treads across the muddy ground Monday afternoon, Purdy watches his crew haul in loads of amusement equipment. Behind him, the Columbus Fairgrounds are bathed in the setting sun.
Purdy and his crew were setting up the stage for a four-day carnival, which will run on evenings from Wednesday through Saturday at the fairgrounds. The event will feature 20 games and 18 rides for both adults and children, and will have six food stands that sell funnel cakes, cones, nachos, corn dogs and more.
A Kentucky native growing up with a family-owned carnival, Purdy was born into the funfair business. His wife, too.
“My wife’s family owned a carnival, and we met at one of the fair conventions, and we were competitors,” Purdy said.
The fair conventions “didn’t go too good,” Purdy said, so the couple decided to open up their own business — Florida-based Amusement Attractions — in 1992.
Purdy usually takes his business on tour for most of the year, sometimes traveling as far north as Minnesota toward the U.S.-Canadian border. His family members, including his sons and brothers-in-law, would often come with him, he said.
“Now most of our family travels with us,” Purdy said. “They retire and come with us.”
But the pandemic disrupted most of his plan this year, Purdy said. He did not set out until July 1, he said, and he had to scale down the operations to a third of what it used to be and stay primarily in the South. The crew had started a tour from Florida to Tennessee. They were headed down Highway 45 looking for locations to throw a carnival, Purdy said, and that’s when he eyed Columbus.
“I just said, ‘Look, there’s a big city,'” Purdy said.
The decision came “last-minute,” said fairgrounds owner Jane Jordan, who added she didn’t know any details about the carnival except for the date.
The carnival offers a variety of rides, including bumper cars, a “screamer” (pendulum), a “Yo-Yo” (spinning swings), a Himalaya ride and other rides on a smaller scale for young kids. There will also be an eight-seat monster truck, which attendees can ride around the fairgrounds, Purdy said. The admission fee is $3 each at the gate, and the carnival will run from 5-10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 3-10 p.m. Saturday.
To address safety concerns due to the pandemic, Purdy said every employee at the carnival will wear a mask. They will also display signage asking fair attendees to wear masks and practice social distancing. Not every seat on the rides will be filled, he said, and the seats will be disinfected after each ride.
Instead of in-person ticket sales, Purdy said attendees can buy tickets at on-site kiosks to limit social interactions. They can also buy a wristband for $20, which comes with a $5 credit for food and game purchases and allows attendees unlimited rides. People can also use the kiosks to load money onto the wristband for further purchases, he said.
Purdy said he hopes the carnival can bring people a sense of normalcy during the pandemic.
“I hope to give people a little entertainment,” he said. “Everybody’s been sort of cooped up. We want them to come out and enjoy something that feels normal. Most of the places we’ve been, it’s the emotional or the feeling that people are getting from coming out … (that) just gives them some hope.”
HOW TO GO
■ WHO: Amusement Attractions
■ WHAT: Four-day carnival
■ WHEN: 5-10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 3-10 p.m. Saturday
■ WHERE: Columbus Fairgrounds
■ HOW: Purchase tickets at on-site kiosks
■ HOW MUCH: $3 admission fee; $20 wristband for unlimited rides
■ NOTE: Attendees are encouraged to wear masks and practice social distancing
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.