Great Danbury State Fair, The (Landmarks) by Zimmermann Andrea

Author:Zimmermann, Andrea [Zimmermann, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2015-11-02T05:00:00+00:00

9

Now That’s Entertainment

Country Music, Hell Drivers and Dancing Bears

The cigar smokers’ ring-blowing contest, billed in the Connecticut tobacco industry’s promotion as “the first such contest in the United States,”…will be judged on the number of rings, firmness of the rings, and their size .

—New York Times, September 19, 1954

With twelve dedicated performance areas, the Danbury Fair was a whirling-dervish of entertainment. Hot dog–eating chimpanzees, Wild West shows, Indian dancing, ventriloquists, smoke ring–blowing contests, Hell Drivers, comedy acts, Chinese aerialists, ostrich races and music were in every corner of the 142-acre fairground.

“You could hear the fair as you approached,” said Danbury resident Carl Tomanio. “It was all so exciting!”

During the early years, the fair offered musical entertainment in the evening. A lighthearted mix of dance, song and comedy followed when vaudeville acts became popular. Then for many years, the fair closed at dusk, a tradition John Leahy followed by closing the fairground at the specified time, 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. in the 1950s and then, in later years, promptly at 7:00 p.m.

The fair ran for six and then nine days so that it spanned two weekends, and finally it was expanded to ten days to include Columbus Day.

Each day was so packed with entertainment and fun that it was impossible to see it all in one visit. The animal circus performance alone lasted an hour and forty minutes.

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