Biz Buzz: Hard not to smile when every day is a carnival

Call Rick Larson a "carnie," and he isn't offended in the least. That's exactly what he is: A carnival company operator from Armona who's been in the business in some capacity since the age of eight. On a sprawling property off Hanford-Armona Road, the 54-year-old Larson presides over American Traveling Shows, an operation with as many as 50 employees, complete with bunk trailers with narrow berths for each. He has 26 rides, the trucks to haul them around in and a ton of other equipment he moves up and down the Central Valley, plunking it down at fairs and festivals for a week's stay at a time.

One week in Selma at the Raisin Festival in May. Another at the Rose Festival in Wasco in September. County fairs in the Sacramento Valley in between.

Ferris wheels, zippers, gravitrons, kiddie coasters, cotton candy booths: Larson can bring big rides and small rides, depending on the size of the gathering.

From the first week in February until the first week in November, it's tough to find him in Armona. He'll pop in for a day of two, get ready for the next show, and hit the road for another week.

Some couldn't stand the constant moving around, but Larson insisted that he likes it.

"The job's never really the same," Larson said.

Jimmy Stafford likes the life, too.

Stafford, at age 43, is Larson's lead driver.

Standing on Larson's property Tuesday, as people bustled around getting ready to do a shopping center in Fresno, Stafford pointed at his rig, a tricked-out semitruck with a sizable living space complete with A/C, a DVD player, surround sound stereo, the works.

"I live in a different spot 42 weeks a year. It's a great life for a single man," said Stafford, a huge grin breaking out on his face.

"Women that you want to hang out with, you get to see the girls from the city and the girls from the country. And the mountain girls are definitely happening," he said, the grin still on his face.

Stafford acknowledged that some carnivals have gotten "negative press" in the past, but he said that Larson's company is "drug free."

"We work together like a family," he said.

It's all in the family for Larson.

His uncle was a carnie, then his father, now him.

In his lifetime, Larson has had only two other jobs: Once at a bowling alley and another time out of high school as a delivery guy for a ball bearing company in San Bernardino.

Larson wanted to be at the front counter dealing with people, and he didn't get the chance to fast enough for his tastes.

So he went back to what he was raised in.

"I liked the carnival, so that's why I left (the delivery job)," he said.

He's been running American Traveling Shows since 1987.

He acknowledged that carnies haven't always been viewed in the best light.

But he said that the industry has worked to "change the image."

"They stay clean now, or they aren't hired," he said.

Larson doesn't allow dangling earrings or nose, tongue and lip rings.

He said the industry has become more heavily regulated in the last 15 years in an effort to boost its image.

The state does regular inspections, insurance does inspections and he does his own daily and monthly inspections.

Larson has gotten to the point where he does the paperwork, with the day-to-day management shifted over to Jason Wold, a longtime employee.

Increasing regulation has been a factor in causing some carnival companies to pull out of the business, according to Bob Johnson, president of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association, a U.S. organization with more than 5,000 members.

The industry faces other challenges as well, according to Johnson.

Finding workers is one of them.

The industry has often utilized foreign workers here under temporary visas.

But the requirements tightened after 9/11, leaving carnival operators like Larson scrambling to come up with enough people willing to do the work.

Larson said he's improved the accommodations, providing beds, closets, electrical hookups, a TV space and air-conditioning in each berth on the bunk trailers.

"The guys used to sleep under the rides and stuff," Larson said.

One of the biggest problems currently is high fuel prices, according to Larson.

"I think it's going to get tougher. It's a light market out there," he said.

Then there's the issue of rapidly multiplying forms of entertainment that keep people at home more often.

Johnson acknowledged some decline in fair attendance, but said the numbers have stabilized.

Fairs still provide "low cost family value" and "G-rated family entertainment," Johnson said.

"People still need to get out. They need to be social. I don't think county fairs and state fairs are going away," he added.

Larson believes that the current business climate favors smaller operations like his, which he thinks can "control costs more."

He's hoping he's one of the ones that survives by doing "smaller stuff."

"Most of us carnies die in the business," he said with a grin.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432

(Aug. 29, 2008)