Rain dampens Fun Frolic

Rain washed some of the fun away in Bloomington Saturday evening, but the community member frolic continues throughout the week.\nBloomington's annual Fun Frolic, a Midwest carnival stationed in the parking lot of IU Memorial Stadium until this weekend, offers community members about a dozen rides, several amusement park-like games and carnival food like corn dogs and cotton candy. Twenty-five percent of Fun Frolic proceeds are divided between IU's Campus Child Care Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters. \n"The Fun Frolic is good for the community, and hopefully everyone has a good time. We are a business but this is for a good cause," said Jeremy Floyd, president of Cumberland Valley Shows, which has managed the Fun Frolic since 1975.\nFloyd said the Fun Frolic lost between $5,000 to $7,000 in gate receipts to the rain shower this past weekend because the show closed about two to three hours early Saturday night, which equates to at least $1,250 of social service money lost to local at-risk children and families in need. Community members attending the Fun Frolic can purchase individual tickets to ride the carnival rides and "bracelets o' fun" can be obtained during certain times on special nights.\n"This is a very expensive operation to bring in and with us donating a quarter of our proceeds we are lucky to break even," Floyd said.\nThe Fun Frolic carnival travels more than 6,000 miles between 30 cities across six Midwest states throughout the summer, and Floyd said ever increasing operation costs, including fuel and electricity, have caused Cumberland Valley Shows to scale back their amusement show. The Fun Frolic caravan used to travel to more than 40 fairs from Florida to Michigan, but a streamlining of the business has reduced their commitment to about 22 fairs per year.\nCommunity members who have attended the Fun Frolic in previous years will notice the reduction of several rides, a few other games and a couple sideshow eateries. Attendees can still find plenty of machines that make people scream before or after community member attempts to win stuffed animal prizes or other carnival trinkets.\n"I was raised out here, and I'm the fourth generation of my family to own this company," Floyd said. "There is a lot of pride in what we do because we have been going to fairs for more than 50 years. We are no different than anybody else. The Fun Frolic is just a job and a different way to make a living."\nFloyd, who attended an IU summer football camp with his brother a while back, said he enjoys traveling to the same towns every year and by now Hoosiers across the state have known his face since he was a child. He said his family built bumper car buildings before they acquired the Fun Frolic, and said he looks forward to visiting Bloomington in particular as his carnival winds and weaves through the Midwest.\n"I like the town," Floyd said. "For me personally, I love the restaurants, I like to shop at the stores and I like the square downtown. It's just a nice area to be and southern Indiana is very similar to home for me in a lot of ways."\nFloyd, who is from Lebanon, Tenn., said his impression of Bloomington is that of a "laid back, very friendly" community of "country people" who "help you if they can." Besides the 25 percent donation to Campus Child Care Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters, he said the Fun Frolic gives lots of money back to the community while it's here.\nFloyd said he has formed personal relationships at local hardware stores among others because his carnival show requires constant upkeep involving various supplies from oil and parts to food and recreation. He said the "economy of traveling around" often requires unknown energy and lifestyle costs dependent upon where the next Fun Frolic stop is scheduled.\nDespite the ever increasing costs of running a movable amusement park for community member joy, Floyd said the benefit to the Bloomington youth is worth every ounce of Fun Frolic effort. He recommends community members visit the Fun Frolic sometime this week for no other reason than to help at-risk children and families in need.\n"We offer a lot of rides and games that are lots of fun," Floyd said. "Part of the fun is just getting out and getting together with family and friends. We are here to help the kids."\nFun Frolic visitors can expect the flashing carnival lights to glow and the cotton candy to whirl from 6 p.m. to between 10 p.m. and midnight, depending on community member foot traffic, every day this week. Community members can attend the Bloomington tomfoolery until June 24, at which time the Fun Frolic will pack up and ship out to North Vernon, Ind.