Carnival coming to town this weekend

It is spring training for carnival companies and that has proven to be a benefit to the Worland community.

Dreamland Carnival Company of Laurel, Montana, traditionally does shows in Montana, going clear up north in the border state. This year, owner Riley Cooke wanted to “straighten out his line of travel” so his preseason schedule began last week in Cody, will be in Worland starting Thursday (set up has begun), and then they head to familiar territory in Riverton before beginning their full summer season.

“It’s like spring training in baseball. We have a lot of seasonal employees that we need to get retrained,” Cooke said.

“We are family entertainment, younger children mostly and teenagers. I have been in the carnival business for 35 years,” Cooke said, noting he has traditionally gone to Bozeman and Kalispell, Montana, and is in Sheridan every year.

He said in the past they would go coast to coast but now they stay in Wyoming, Montana and the Dakotas primarily.

Cooke said they are bringing their fair pieces to Worland because that is what they have. They should have about 25 to 28 rides, plus carnival games and carnival food booths.

One ride, he said is unique to Dreamland and it is a 110-foot swing ride that is popular with teens. He said there is another similar ride in Europe.

The carnival is set to open Thursday at 5 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at noon and Sunday at 1 p.m. They will not be open past midnight and may close earlier depending on the traffic for the rides.

There may be temporary shut downs depending on the weather but rides would resume that day if weather dissipates, Cooke said.

Will Worland remain on the preseason schedule? “If it shows promise and I feel we can build on we will definitely be back,” Cooke said, adding that the fairgrounds crew and Washakie County have been great to work with.

Safety is a top priority for Dreamland. He said they are insured for $5 million and are invited back to large events every year, and were invited to the be carnival highlighted in the TV series Yellowstone.

There is no admission fee to get into the carnival. There are fees for rides, games and food.