The 2015 edition of HerrinFesta Italiana will feature an all new and upgraded carnival midway. Festival organizers announced today that the leading carnival company in the world will be bringing one of its units to Herrin May 21-25.
“North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) has over 200 rides in its inventory and will be bringing a good selection of them to Herrin,” said HerrinFesta Italiana Vice President Joey Helleny. “
“NAME provides the midway for some of the country’s leading fairs, including both the Illinois State Fair and the Indiana State Fair,” said Helleny. “The company serves 10 of the top 50 fairs in North America.”
“This partnership will allow us access to rides and attractions that we’ve never been able to bring to Herrin before,” said HerrinFesta President Cris Trapani. “All of NAME’s rides are recent models and we’ll be getting many of the current rides you see at the biggest fairs.”
Some of the rides tentatively scheduled for HerrinFesta include a Century Wheel (Ferris Wheel type ride), a Free Fall, Wacky Worm mini coaster, Scooter bumper cars, Crazy Mouse, Pharaoh’s Fury swinging boat, classic Tilt-a-Whirl, Mini-Himalaya, Fun Slide, Gravitron, Freak Out giant claw type ride, and a classic Carousel. There is a good selection of rides planned for all age groups.
As in the past HerrinFesta guests will be able to buy pay-one-price armbands for a full day of midway fun. New this year will be the opportunity to buy the armband online in advance at a discount. The $23 armbands will be available for $18 through the www.herrinfesta.com website. There is a single processing fee for as many armbands as you’d like to buy.
“We provide family fun to more than 15 million people each year,” said Jeff Blomsness, co-owner of North American Midway Entertainment. “We look forward to making HerrinFesta a huge success. We pride ourselves on not only providing the best carnival rides in the industry, but safety is our number one priority.”
NAME has one of the leading safety programs in the industry. All of the company’s rides undergo non-destructive bi-annual testing and site safety coordinators work with state inspectors throughout the midway season.