Milestone trip report for the Our Lady of Peace Country Fair in New Providence, NJ as I’ve now done ten of them on this local fair. I really should have more as I remember having a few on the original DOD site, all the way back when Cookes Amusements did the fair…maybe they’re hanging around on one of my old hard drives, I’ll have to look.
This year the fair returned to its usual mid-May week, spanning from May 13th to the 16th. The rides were brought in by Blue Sky Amusements, and the fair had…
- Zipper
- Riptide
- Himalaya
- Dragon Loops
- Tilt-a-Whirl
- Scooter
- Round Up
- Chair Jet
- Gondola Wheel
- Monkey Mayhem
- Carousel
- Super Slide
- Rock Wall
- Several kiddie rides (Dragon Wagon, Tip-a-Canoe, Tubs of Fun, a few more)
- An assortment of foodstuffs
- Games of chance and skill
- Several vendors
- One tornado warning
I only managed to go two days this year…more like one and a half, really. I spent the most time on Thursday night. The setup was similar to last year with a couple of alterations. For one, Dragon Loops was added in and placed in between the Gondola Wheel and Rock Wall with Riptide shifting to the right side of the lot. So, this year, the fair had two looping rides with Zipper and Dragon Loops.
On Thursday, the place was moderately crowded when I arrived at 7 or so and quieted down before I left at around 9pm. Zipper had the longest line it seemed with probably Riptide as the second. Wednesday, well, when I got there the place was practically deserted. Possibly a mix of timing, day, and the fact that it was like high 50s out. I heard that the lot was jam packed on Friday.
One ride worth noting was Super Slide, which had some work done on it. It had LED decorations on each side of the slide and a pink, yellow, and green color scheme. It looked super, pun absolutely intended. The Gondola Wheel had also gotten some TLC over the winter with a freshly painted trailer and spokes, but the photos I have don’t show it too well since it was darker out when I took them.
Dragon Loops had a steady line on Thursday. The ride had a sign out front about not bringing cell phones on the ride, showing an intact cell phone and a busted cell phone with the difference being that one had been on (and subsequently off) Dragon Loops. While cell phones should be secured, I feel like loose pocket change is absolutely welcome.
The games area had all the usual games of skill and chance including wheels, knock over the [items], speed pitch, watergun race, shoot out the star, duck pond, and others. Also scattered around the lot where other games like a fishing game and a dunk tank. Inside the gymnasium was a sitdown restaurant and several vendors.
Now, my original plans were to skip Friday night and head down on Saturday night. I got half of that done I guess, but my trip over there on Saturday night was curbed when not only rain showers moved through but when a tornado warned storm bore down on the area as well! I’d be surprised about a tornado warned storm, but there’s been at least three now in the past several years, with one actually dropping a tornado in 2013 that passed not far from OLP. I mean, it was barely a tornado, but a confirmed one nonetheless. After the rain subsided at around 10pm, I decided to head over and see if anything was still going on. I doubted it, but why not. I drove past and was pretty sure that I saw one of the rides folded down already. Welp, guess that answers that!
Wish I could have gotten there another day, but I did manage to get quite a few good photos on Thursday.
6 Comments
I have to say, I can’t believe my friend/training partner and I missed out on this fair this year. Not only because of some financial issues.. but also weather related. We also planned to go on the last day of the fair which was Saturday, May 16 after our usual Saturday afternoon karate session. But I had feeling that the fair was going to get completely rained out. I checked the hourly forecast on my Weather Channel app and it said from 7pm (The time we plan to be there) to midnight.. 50-60% of thunderstorms and heavy downpours. Almost 6pm and we were thinking either risking going to this awesome fair and get ourselves soaked at the event. Or stay dry at home on a Saturday night playing Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Revolution Storm on my friend’s PS3 with him, knowing that the event will get washed out. At around 7pm Mike (Blue Sky Amusements owner) sent me a FB message saying that the rain has came down hard and there’s a good chance that the fair may come to an early close. And I knew I made the right choice cause while it was storming over there, so as in Elizabeth (Where me and my friend lives).
So instead of getting ourselves soaked at this event, I just enjoying battling against my friend in this awesome fighting game while it was raining cats and dogs. And at around 9pm the rain subsided and we got us boneless ribs, beef fried rice, and fries from the best Chinese takeout place in town. And he slept over at my place. And that’s how we pretty much spent that Saturday night together.
So then we decided we should celebrate it at the North Brunswick Youth Sports Fest. Since it’s a 2 week long event and they have unlimited ride wristbands from Walgreens, which went on sale just yesterday until June 13. And Reithoffer Shows (Orange Unit) will do this fair this year. Again I was hoping both Strates and Reithoffer do the same spot..but guessing it wasn’t in the cards this year. But oh well, while I was looking at pics of some fairground stuntman stuntman walking on top of the Dutch Wheel, I asked them if the wheel (that looks quite similar to Strates) is going to appear at the NBYSF this year, guess what? The Dutch Wheel already got approval to play at any large fair in NJ. Though crossing my fingers hoping that it will be there..as well as the ride I’ve been fearing the most, the KMG Tango..oh and of course their Mets (or Knicks)/Yanks colored Zipper as well.
https://www.facebook.com/ReithofferShows/posts/10153465478437223
Good choice on not heading over. After the tornado warned storm went through, it just kept raining light to moderately until 10pm. The worst storm actually missed (the worst of it went over the neighboring town to the west) but it was bad enough to clear everyone out I’m sure.
I’m kind of glad Reithoffer is doing North Brunswick again. I like Strates and they have some nice rides, but I do like Reithoffer a lot more. On their Dutch wheel, I know that it normally plays St. Michaels Fair in Levittown, PA, which is June 23rd to July 5. So I don’t know if it would be at NB as they might be cutting it close since NB ends on the 21st.
And you need to go on Tango. It’s a blast!
I forgot to mention, celebrate my best friend/karate training partner’s birthday at the New Prov fair on that wet Saturday night. But at least we had an awesome karate session as usual that day. After that the students, the sensei and I threw him a Ninja Turtle viewing pizza party..watching an episode or 2 of the Nickelodeon animated series while we’re all chowing down on a slice of pizza. I’d say that was a “Shell-tastic-ally” epic party at the dojo huh?
And in the video link below, there’s a little sneak peek of the initial setup of the rides being built in the muddy field near DeVry University, featuring the Tango!
https://www.facebook.com/nancyandbuddy/videos/996290987070646/
I’m guessing This Would Be The Year For Me To Conquer It. Considering that I’ve been kicked in the groin before during some of my sparring matches..I have a feeling how that would feel like riding that European mechanical torture device.
You know you should really consider on getting a Facebook page for this website. Tell you what, how about this? If I can get a video of me, my best friend (I call him my best bro too, never really had a real brother in my life just 2 older sisters) and 2 of our other friends on the Tango this year, then you would have to create a FB page for this site too. Deal? 😉
I’d rather not because I know that I’m not going to administer it and it’ll turn into a wasteland of updates and the occasional share like my Twitter. You’re going to like Tango a lot more than a barely updating Facebook group anyway. lol BTW, weren’t you going to start a website at some point?
I figured that it’s too much time and work for me to do my own carnival/karate blog site. I sometimes don’t know what to say when I type and I sometimes either make a typo or leave out some words. Plus I won’t earn much money doing it unless if some people makes a small donation to my so-called site. And lastly, I don’t want to steal your thunder/spotlight from having this site if you know what I mean.
And like I said, this is the year. I’ve been kicked in the groin a few times during some karate belt exams and competitions. So I have a feeling that I’ll be feeling that same discomfort on that ride.