Carnival
Every summer our company, has an informal corporate gathering. Usually about two hundred employees and their families show up for these events. This year it was so incredible I want to tell you about it.
Our company rented the county fairgrounds and created a private carnival for four hundred employees and guests. What really made this event not only enjoyable, but different, was that we ran the whole show. There were the usual fair ridesfair rides: Ferris wheel, a Moon Bounce, and also carnival skill games, a several food booths and stages where performers put on variety shows. Street performers were wandered the grounds, making balloon animals, juggling, painting faces and performing magic tricks for everyone.
At the carnival entrance the guests could pick up a map of every booth, a hat and a t-shirt with our company logo on it. Every guest could go into a booth and learn tricks of the trade. For example you could see what it was like to be a barker at the dunking booth instead of being the one sitting on the seat inside. You could go over to the Ferris wheel operator and learn which switch started and stopped the ride although you weren't actually allowed to touch the switch unless you had an operator's license. You were given the duty of deciding how long each ride would be.
The street performers also would teach anyone wearing a carnie hat or shirt how to make a balloon animal, juggle bean bags, paint a clown face or perform a simple card trick. One of my co-workers had a blast at the pizza food both learning how to spin pizza dough so it was the right size for the pan. Even the kids got involved. My son spent an hour at the cotton candy booth learning how to wrap the spun sugar onto the paper cone. It was so interesting to see the what the carnival was like from the other side of the counter. For a while, I thought there might be more people working the carnival than actually attending it as guests! We all had a fantastic time!
from A professional clown taught me to paint a clown face . I didn't think I would be very good at it since I don't draw very well. He explained all it took was a steady hand and patience. He had me practice on a face he drew on a balloon for the first one. My daughter volunteered to be my first human subject and the clown face came out pretty good. We both had fun.
The a rock n' roll band performing on a stage at one end of the carnival were all employees. They were really very good and they played most of the day. There were four other bands that played throughout the day who also had employees of our company in them. All of them played vastly different styles, but they were all good.
In the evening, a professional country western band put on a show. An announcer taught everyone a country line dance. It was so much fun even my son and daughter enjoyed it.
Many people brought their own still and video cameras to record their memories of the carnival, but I thought the best way to remember the day was by getting a caricature. The professional artist watched Gregory and I at the ring toss and drew a very funny, sketch of me holding a ring and smiling while Gregory jumped up and down hugging the giant stuffed animal he won. She signed it when she was finished and handed it to me with a warm smile. I had it framed and hung it in my office.
Everyone took their caps and t-shirts home as souveneirs and some employees even wear them on casual Friday.
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