Northlands Park - Memories Worth Keeping
background
community events
people
media

Northlands Park Midway Overview

Midway visitorsAs an organization that proudly considers itself a community member, Northlands Park has been offering midways to people that visit its summer exhibition for a long time.

Midways have an extensive history—with roots going back to 12th century church fairs focused around regional commercial trade. Later, they evolved into grand events stationed at a particular location catering to audiences thatEnjoying a breezy ride moved through the midway's path. Since their beginning, they have worked hard to retain the interest of transitory audiences seeking new and unheard of enjoyment.

With time, midways developed into travelling affairs put on by different, and sometimes flamboyant companies, most often in conjunction with exhibitions or other Rollercoaster ridecommunity events that included agricultural affairs. In the 1920s, the relationship between midway businesses and agricultural events blossomed into happily boisterous occasions in Edmonton.

The Edmonton Exhibition Association (EEA) hired individual shows and independent circuses to entertain its large crowds. As midways gained fame and became more elaborate, the EEA brought them to town. They proved to be very popular and quickly replaced or were combined with previous forms of entertainment. Midway game booth

An historic and prominent midway company that left a positive impact and many cheerful memories for its host, the EEA, and its North-central Alberta audience, was the Johnny J. Jones Exposition company. For a long run in the 1920s, it presented all of the standard components of a midway, and amused summer exhibition visitors.

Testing the forces of gravityConklin Shows, an important and dedicated midway figure in Canada and abroad, has provided Northlands Park’s summer exhibition the best travelling carnival fun since 1976, when the Royal American Shows Company ceased working in Canada.

To experience the Northlands Park midway is to take part in a long and colourful tradition that has amused people through the centuries.

[back] [top]

Quicklinks

Midway History

Midway
 Companies

Midway Elements
 and Components

The Alberta Online Encyclopedia visit Northlands.com! visit the Heritage Community Foundation!