Built to Thrill: America’s Fairgrounds

Since their founding at the end of the 19th century, American fairs have become one of the symbols of homegrown American entertainment, combining excess and rural traditions. Among the attractions are human cannon balls, demolition derbies and 1,000 calerie funnel cakes. These popular XXL events  attract more than 150 million visitors a year and generate €30 billion in revenue.

Hamburg Fair in New York State is one of the largest in the country, attracting 1.5 million people in ten days.  Headlining the fair is Brian Miser and his famioy Brian is one of the last human cannonballs in the country. He propels himself 100 feet in the air at 60 miles an hour with only a safety net held by 4 fairground workers to save him. “As long as my body is holding up, I’ll keep shooting!” It’s a dangerous job. “I broke three ribs, my foot… and pelvis for the second time… I’ve broken my nose at least 10 times…” The family earns up to $3.500 a day and are on the road for ten months of the year.

Legend has it the hamburger was invented here 140 years ago. But now, the favoured fairground snack is a giant fried doughnut known as the funnel cake. Alexis and her mother, Toni ,are the ‘funnel cake queens’. Lee and Lyle LeCaptain are stars of competitive logging, where the goal is to cut huge logs of wood in record time. They even have their own reality TV show. But Jason and Greg have come to destroy their school bus. For more than 20 mins, they battle it out in a demolition derby.

Discover the entrepreneurial dynasties that drive the fairground industry in the United States.