Taking a ride part of Marion County Fair tradition

MARION – As large as Aila Agyekum's cheeks swelled, an observer might have thought the child's stomach was trying to escape through her mouth.

Not to worry, however; a smile broke across her face moments later as she and her friend, Kiley Facione, decided which amusement ride they would board next after conquering the Super Shot on Wednesday at the Marion County Fair.

"Priceless," Kiley's mother Debra Sharp laughed as the passenger compartments holding the 6-year-old friends slowed to a stop after dropping from a height of 90 feet. "You guys crack me up."

Eliciting such pleasure has been the objective of Bates Amusements Inc. in each of its 50 years in business, said Kim Bates-Bozich, the company's corporate secretary. She said Bates Amusements, which is based in Wintersville, has 40 rides, including 15 at this year's county fair, it's roughly 25th year at the annual Marion County Fairgrounds event.

"We strike a balance as far as what appeals to different age groups," Bates-Bozich said. "Some rides are for kiddie rides. Some are adult rides. We try to get something that's appealing to everyone."

Kiley and Aila shared differing opinions about Cliff Hanger after they disembarked from the ride, which has passengers lie on their stomachs on hang glider sleds as the sleds swing out and the ride spins and tilts in the air.

"This is the first time she was tall enough to ride it," Sharp said.

And maybe the last, at least if the youngster doesn't overcome her first impression.

"It was scary because it went too high," Kiley said. "I never want to go on that again."

Aila related the identical experience, but the opposite reaction, saying, "It's awesome because it went higher, higher."

Cliff Hanger is making its first appearance at the fair in several years, Bates-Bozich said of the recently refurbished ride, which like Super Shot and Typhoon, two other rides for those in their teens or older, was on blacktop adjacent Veterans Memorial Coliseum this year because of the rain-soaked fairgrounds. The kiddie rides are set up on the south side of the property.

She said Cliff Hanger is one of the most popular rides in the amusement industry. Scooters, a bumper cars amusement, at the south end of the fairgrounds also is making its first appearance in awhile.

"We have a rotation of our popular rides that are always coming into the place," Bates-Bozich said. "Cliff Hanger is very, very popular."

Ticket prices for the rides at the county fair are $14 for an unlimited ride pass; individual tickets are $1 each or 12 for $10. Children's rides cost three tickets. Major rides cost four tickets.

Noting that Bates Amusements is celebrating its 50th anniversary, she said manufacturing and operating amusement rides is a financially challenging enterprise.

"The competition in this industry, it's like any business, right now it's struggling," she said. "Because we made our mark early in life, we've been able to sustain. But it's not a business that people are getting into right now because it's not cost-effective. You're talking rides that are $700,000, $800,000 for one ride, so for us to overcome our costs people aren't buying into this business on a regular basis. They might go buy an (inflatable ride), but there's a big difference in costs."

Amusement operations have found cooperation works best when economic circumstances are difficult.

"The handful of companies that are in the state we work very congenially with each other because we need each other, and we're dependent on each other," she said. "We can't service 88 counties."

Traveling amusement companies continue to fill a niche, even when they operate within an hour or two of amusement parks such as Cedar Point in Sandusky, Bates-Bozich said.

"What happens with the county fairs, there's a whole lot of people who don't get to go to the Cedar Points and Kings Islands," she said. "Cedar Point is a fantastic amusement park. It's No. 1 in the country, but at the same time, we come to you in Marion, and that's to our advantage."

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the company is giving away a family vacation, valued at $5,000, to Walt Disney World, "no strings attached," she said. To enter, visit BatesAmusement.com.

jjarvis@marionstar.com

740-375-5154

Twitter: @jmwjarvis

Thursday at the fair

•Rides open at noon.

•Small animal awards program at noon.

•National tractor pull at 7:30 p.m. at the grandstand