A renewed contract, more land and a finished barn … Odds are good at the Alaska State Fair

Golden Wheel signs contract with fair

By JEN RANSOM-Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- Golden Wheel Amusement has entered into another five-year contract with the Alaska State Fair, and will be purchasing three new rides during the course of that contract.

"We're very optimistic about the next five years," said Golden Wheel owner Jacqueline Leavitt. "We're looking at getting some new rides and getting some new improvements to the midway."

Negotiations over the contract caused quite a stir during the fair last August; Leavitt told the Frontiersman at that time that "in a sense, [negotiations] are over" and that the fair was asking for too much from the carnival, which was started in Alaska by Leavitt's mother in 1967. But things smoothed out between the two parties, and both sides say they are happy with the continued presence of Golden Wheel at the fair.

"We love them; we always did," said Joe Lawton, general manager of the Alaska State Fair.

Golden Wheel is obligated to buy three new rides during the next five years; Leavitt says that she and her husband Joe are looking at possibly purchasing a new ride by the next fair.

"We won't be adding more kiddy rides," she added.

Lawton explained further:

"Together with Golden Wheel we are going to aim more at the teen market," he said.

Golden Wheel first signed a long-term contract with the fair in 1997, before that, the company had one-year contracts. Part of Golden Wheel's concern during this year's negotiations was the quality of the midway, the upkeep that needed to be done, and who would pay for it. The new commuter rail center, scheduled to be up and running by the 2004 Alaska State Fair, will provide a new entrance through the midway, and bathrooms that can be accessed through the carnival site. Both Leavitt and Lawton said they are pleased with the new upgrade plans.

"Public access to the midway will be easy," Lawton said.

Plans to pave walkways in the midway are also in place, but because the new commuter rail center will encroach somewhat on the midway property, the fair has decided to wait at least one year to see where the people walk once the new midway is established.

"Not this year, but soon," Lawton said.

Golden Wheel will also have the opportunity to have two one-year extensions on this contract, which was signed earlier this month.