KIRMES & Park REVUE (English) Special: Rouen (Vorschau)

CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Much admired in London:
Rasch’s “Alpen Hotel”
Impressions from the
“Winter Wonderland” London
Schneider’s “Power Tower 2”, Irvin’s Gallopers and
“Helter Skelter”, Rasch’s “Irrgarten” mirror maze,
Schierenbeck’s “Bayern Slide”, Schneider’s “Pirate’s
Adventure”, Manning’s “American Carousel”
and “North Pole” slide, Hinzen’s “Haunted Mansion”,
Antibes Land’s 5D Cinema (new from France),
plus numerous children’s rides and fairground
games. There were even quirky features such as the
Olten Hall (Hogwarts Express) steam train from the
Harry Potter movies and Buwalda’s talking tree,
which provided jokes and facts about The Royal
Parks to passers-by.
In addition to the Angel’s Christmas Market and
numerous kiosks, Winter Wonderland featured a
number of dedicated food, drink and entertainment
area – several of them familiar to German fairground
fans – including the “House of St Nicolas”, “Star Tavern”,
“Bavarian Village”, “Lighthouse Bar”, “Pig &
Apple”, “Spiegel Saloon” and “Carousel Bar”. New
for 2011, the latter was custom built by the Manning
family during the summer, and featured a rotating
centre surrounded by classic fair and film
memorabilia.
By fostering a “continental” fairground atmosphere,
Winter Wonderland has been able to cater to a wider
demographic than many traditional travelling fairs and
increased “dwell time” on the part of its guests. As well
as attracting overseas operators, the event has also
encouraged many domestic showmen to start theming
their attractions, and similar attention to detail can
now be found at a number of smaller
Christmas events across the
country. But with shipping and
accommodation costs to meet on
top of other operating expenses,
how viable is it for foreign showmen?
Kirmes & Park Revue spoke to Harry
Harder from Hamburg, who has
been participating at Winter Wonderland
for a number of years with
his gastronomic operations including Santa’s Pub.
“We used to be allowed to bring our own living accomodation
with us, but now we must rent an apartment
for two months,” he reveals. “This makes things
very expensive, but the hours of operation [10am-
10pm daily] are much longer than we can find in Germany,
so it is worthwhile for us.”
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