Fiesta Shows Opens Friday

UPDATE: The carnival officially opens Friday at 6 p.m., correcting misinformation we received about opening night. Disregard the April 5 date on the discount coupons, available through Fiesta Shows website and Facebook pages. Carnival hours: Friday: Opens 6 p.m; Sat. and Sunday: Opens Noon Mon. - Thursday: Opens 6 p.m. Pay one price wristband nights: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Original story begins here: This is Tim Barry's third carnival season. As he sets up the "Duck Pond" with his cousin, Jordan Hafford, both of Haverhill, Mass., he explains how the amusement works.

For $3 kids pluck a duck from the miniature swimming pool. Each duch has an S, M or L on it. So if your duck has an "S" you win a small prize, which can be traded up for a larger prize if you get another "S" duck.

"This is Jordan's second day on the job. I brought him in," said Tim, whose girlfriend works one of the food concessions, and her mom is the office manager.

"It really is a family friendly business," said Barry.

"It's a great job to have. Twice a week you work really hard, putting everything up and taking everything down. The rest of the time, it's just a lot of fun."

And, adds Barry, this is not the kind of carnival that gave carnivals a bad reputation, back in the day.

"It's nothing like that. It's all family oriented. We're in the amusement business, providing a fun place for families to have a good time," Barry said.

In his two years with the show he's traveled with the carnival from Bangor, Maine, to Woodstock, Ct.

"That's about as far as this carnival goes."

That's because of Fiesta Shows' deep New England roots.

It all began in 1935, with Eugene Dean and Jack Flynn, who as Dean & Flynn, launched a carnival business based in Salisbury Beach, Mass.

Eventually they signed on to provide midway entertainment for the Topsfield Fair. Over the years they evolved to be a regional staple at many New England towns for summer and special occasion fun.

Today, John Flynn and his business partner, Gene Dean, carry on the family-owned show as second-generation carnival impresarios, now based in Seabrook.

Flynn said they set up from town to town based on the occasion, tailoring the rides and attractions for a variety of fund-raising purposes. Often they work with churches or, as in this case, parks and rec departments.

Apryll Grant of Nashua was on site Wednesday, helping set up one of the game booths where kids will try to knock things off a shelf or toss a hoop onto a thingie, or squirt a gun into a hole fast enough to win and walk away with a giant stuffed prize.

"I've been with the carnival since 1998," said Grant, handing a large black-and-white dog to the guy balancing on a strategic booth corner, whose job it is to hang the prizes at just the right height to catch a kid's eye.

Fiesta Shows Giant Carnival opens April 5 and runs through April 15. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the City of Nashua's Parks and Recreation budget, which provides seasonal activities from the community. A $5 discount coupon is available on the Fiesta Shows website or on their Facebook page, which also has some special Family Pack Prize offers.