Midway magic

Frontiersman

With names like Cliff Hanger and Tilt a Whirl, the Midway at the Alaska State Fair beckons those with an appetite for adventure - and thrill-seekers pack the carnival area every day.

While you'll catch some adults on the rides, for the most part, it's the younger set that flocks to the fantasy land of blinking colors, flashy sounds and speed, speed, speed.

&#8220You'll never get me on half of these rides,” said Cliff Youngerman, whose 14-year-old son, Dylan, took up the slack on the Gravitron. &#8220Maybe if I was 20 years younger, but this isn't an old man's game.”

Tiffany Siles, 16, said her favorite ride is the Cliff Hanger, because it basically lives out a fantasy many people have.

&#8220You feel like you're flying through the air, above the fair,” she said of the ride in which people are strapped prolong into a glider-looking cart and thrust through the air. &#8220It's cool. The only problem is that the ride is too short. I could do it all day.”

While Siles likes flying through the air, her 13-year-old friend, Diana Green, said she prefers the Tilt a Whirl, for reasons less obvious.

&#8220You get spinning so fast you think you are going to throw up when you get off it,” she said with a smile seemingly spanning ear to ear. &#8220I love that.”

This year, as in the past, the midway is a top attraction for young and old alike. For adults, one step into the area brings back memories of cotton candy, candy apples and rides on the Ferris wheel. For the younger crowd, those memories are waiting to be made each day of the fair.

&#8220The kids love it. It's their chance to have fun. We set aside one day for the rides so they can do what they want,” Youngerman said. &#8220This is really the only chance they get. We didn't go to Fur Rondy last winter, but that's the only other time they get to ride them. It gets expensive, but it's only once a year.”

This year, a favorite ride, the Zipper, isn't at the fair, but a few new rides are. The loss of the Zipper didn't deter Siles and her friends from having fun.

&#8220I like the Zipper, but there's lots of other rides that are just as fun,” she said.

Carnival games also are a top draw, as fun-seeking fairgoers shell out two bucks for a dart to pop a balloon, toss a ball into a basket or dip out a duck from a moving stream of water.

The luckiest walk away with an enormous stuffed animal. The unluckiest still take home a prize in many cases - and the memory of a fun day at the fair.

Contact Casey Ressler at 352-2265 or

valleylife@frontiersman.com.