From the desk of Frank Zaitshik End2013 of 2014 Fall Newsletter Report Wade Shows 2014 End of Year Newsletter In this issue: Oh what a year it has been!...... Record ride revenue at many fairs, big, new events on the schedule, 2014 Fair & multi-year contract extensions, refurbishment projects and new ride purchases made 2014 a very Festival route update exciting year. Advance Sales & I apologize for not getting a regular newsletter out but like a roller coaster, once we got to the top there Dollar day at NY State was no stopping as we made our way at a breakneck pace through 2014. Fair a huge success Speaking of roller coasters, we debuted our largest coaster ever this year, the Comet II, and it led our list of new rides for 2014. This coaster is now the largest fully portable coaster in the US, taking the Wade Shows signs title from our own RC-48, which we still continue to move. The Comet II will play several select events agreement with throughout the year and is really a park-like attraction that makes a tremendous addition to our largest Florida State Fair to events. coordinate midway In addition to the Comet II, we purchased a spinning Over 10 new rides coaster, our fourth roller coaster, the Mighty Mouse, purchased for 2015 a Rock Star spectacular ride, and a Charlie Chopper a “spectacular” family ride that simulates helicopter flight. My daughter Marina also jumped into the business with both feet by purchasing a Happy Swing kiddie ride to add to our lineup. Finally, we refurbished one of our signature rides, the Rainbow, a one of a kind ride for North America. Page End of 2014 Newsletter The 2014 season started with a successful Florida run. The South Florida Fair, our first major event of the season, had a slight dip in attendance but per capita spending was strong and actually increased this year. Rick Vymlatil and his team once again did an outstanding job. Read more about the South Florida Fair here (or scan the qr code to the right with your smart phone): SCAN TO READ http://goo.gl/aplQRE From South Florida, we took many rides into the Florida State Fair where we were the largest ride provider and revenue generator once again in 2014 on the fair’s independent midway. The fair adopted the FunCard system for rides and, because they used the same system we use, we were able to SCAN TO READ assist with the program’s implementation. Read more about the Florida State Fair here (or scan the qr code to the right): http://goo.gl/r82aET Meanwhile, in Texas, we played one of North America’s largest events, the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo. The event had a slow start with weather but finished strong with an attendance increase, besting the 1.7 million-person mark. Debbie Dreyfus-Schronk, the event’s COO, was also the IAFE Chairman this year and she led the organization with her leadership and expertise while also working with the thousands of volunteers who help make SALE so successful each year. Read more about the SALE here (or scan the qr code to the right): SCAN TO READ http://goo.gl/XcjVpM From the SALE, we go to one of America’s greatest festivals, Fiesta San Antonio, which is just an amazing production with dozens of events going on throughout the festival’s duration. John Melleky, the festival’s CEO has a tremendous staff and an amazing amount of volunteers to put together Huss Rainbow making its return debut at the South FL Fair this top-notch event. At the end of Fiesta, we were very honored to receive a new long-term contract with the event and we look forward to bringing the event to new heights together. Page End of 2014 Newsletter Back in Florida, we played the Central Florida Fair where Shawn Krauel has brought new energy and ideas to put the fair on a renewed growth track. The fair has some unique challenges, being situated in the SCAN TO READ amusement park capital of the world but Shawn has the event on the move and I’m excited about the future there. Read more about the CFF here (or scan the qr code to the right): http://goo.gl/kxRDLP Before Orlando we play the Pasco County Fair, which had a great year, and we added a new county fair this year, the Sumter County Fair in Bushnell where we had a very nice run. See the article here (or scan the qr code to the left): SCAN TO READ http://goo.gl/EN06TE Central Florida Fair midway Just about that time in March, we received some very exciting news that we were awarded the contract to provide the midway for the New York State Fair! The same company has played this event for over 70 years so it was a tremendous achievement for us. We added one of the premier fairs in the US in one of the largest media markets. Our happiness was tempered however by the challenge at hand. We were awarded the contract for the 2014 fair, leaving just a few short months to stage a huge new midway under incredible scrutiny. Things were further complicated when the former midway provider protested the decision of the committee, delaying our ability to start fully planning our promotions and pricing. You can read a few articles about the process here SCAN TO READ (or scan the qr codes to the right): http://goo.gl/OfM1y5 and here: http://goo.gl/I9MCaa New Mighty Mouse Coaster at the NY State Fair - photo by Chris Cox Page End of 2014 Newsletter Following the controversy in Syracuse, we were ready to start the season with our first major event of the summer, the Delaware State Fair. The fair had good weather, a great entertainment lineup and a re-imagined plaza area for guests. Along with strong marketing and promotions, it produced a SCAN TO READ record or near record year on the midway. Read more about the DSF here (or scan the qr code to the right): http://goo.gl/gLqNDo From Delaware, the unit jumped to the Wayne County Fair in Honesdale, PA. Even thought it is a medium-sized fair, their board does such an incredible job, drawing about 100,000 people to the event. The fair has a pay one price structure where rides are included with admission and the concessions have a great run there. Giant Wheel at the Delaware State Fair From PA it was on to the years biggest adventure; the New York State Fair. After months of planning and promotion we were ready to go. We implemented our FunCard electronic ticketing system there and after a few first day hiccups, things went very smoothly. A big part of our strategy was to offer unlimited ride wristbands every day to customers and offer an advance sale savings for their purchase. The strategy paid off and we were rewarded with a record advance sale and a record ride gross. In addition, we devised a Dollar Day Labor Day promotion where rides were all $1.00 on the last day and the fair also jumped on board, offering a bold $1.00 admission. We had broken the single day attendance record just two days before but we bested it again on Labor Day, turning a mediocre day into one of the best days of the fair. What a way to cap off a great experience, working in concert with fair management to pull off a great success. In the end, we were up a whopping 30% +! Thanks to Troy Waffner, Geneanne Smith, Dave Bullard, Jason Ryan and the whole team at the NYSF and congratulations to John Kitchen on being named the new chief of staff. Read more about the NYSF here (or scan the qr code to the right): http://goo.gl/NbyIa5 SCAN TO READ Dollar Day crowds from on top of the Drag Strip Slide Page End of 2014 Newsletter Our first unit jumps into Missouri in the heart of summer after starting in Michigan. We then play several great events; the Ozark Empire Fair, the Missouri State Fair, Santa Cali-Gon Days and the Jefferson County Fair. The weather once again cooperated this summer and we had a fantastic run through the Show Me State. Aaron Owen at the Ozark Empire fair led us to a record run this year and Mark Wolfe and his team at the MSF have been growing their event each year. Our third unit, after a successful spring in Michigan, capped off by the Berrien County Youth Fair, traveled to Grand Island, Nebraska for a return engagement with the Nebraska State Fair. This fair is just a joy to work with and despite some extreme weather challenges, onsite sales equaled 2013’s. If we ever get a perfect run with the weather SCAN TO READ Front gate landscaping at the Nebraska State Fair there, we will shatter every record in the book. Read more about the NSF here (or scan the qr code): http://goo.gl/70euTN From Syracuse Jimmy Danton’s unit had a tight move into the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville. Scott Suchomski and his team ably manage this terrific event and his father Larry, who preceded him in the job, is always around to lend a hand or give advice. The 95th edition of the event went off without a hitch and the fair drew close to 150,000 people.