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A Carnival Comes to the Park Avenue Armory

Sunday, October 10, 2010

By Julia Furlan : WNYC Culture Producer / Mary Shell : Photographer, WNYC Culture Desk

  • A mother bonds with her son on the fastest ride in the Park Avenue Armory's carnival. Enlarge

    A mother bonds with her son on the fastest ride in the Park Avenue Armory's carnival. (Mary Shell)

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This summer's state fairs have for the most part taken their funnel cakes and trans fats out of the Big Apple. But New Yorkers looking for campy fun this weekend need look no further than Manhattan's Park Avenue.

Through Monday evening, the 55,000-square foot space at the Park Avenue Armory will host a carnival filled with the blinking lights and cheap stuffed prizes of homegrown Americana. Appropriately for New York, this carnival trades quaint greenery for a darker, distinctly cinematic feel. The carnival is free for kids under 13 and $20 to purchase an unlimited ride wristband. The whole endeavor seems uncharacteristically old-school. But, of course, old-school is in.

Mary Shell

"Buy those tickets, ride those rides!"

Mary Shell

"We have cleaned the globe to bring you a wundercade of miracles."

Mary Shell

The Trabant is the fastest ride in the carnival, the only one with a four-foot height requirement.

A mother bonds with her son.
Mary Shell

On the Trabant, a mother bonds with her son.

Under a spotlight, children strike a pose for their mother's camera.
Mary Shell

Under a spotlight, children strike a pose for their mother's camera.

A juggler pretending to drop her props is all the rage with the five and under set.
Mary Shell

A juggler pretending to drop her props is all the rage with the five and under set.

Every now and then, the carnival echoes with the sound of a popping balloon and a happy kid collects a prize for aiming a water gun.
Mary Shell

Every now and then, the carnival echoes with the sound of a popping balloon and a happy kid collects a prize for aiming a water gun.

A 50-foot ferris wheel moving at a clip is the centerpiece of the carnival.
Mary Shell

A 50-foot ferris wheel moving at a clip is the centerpiece of the carnival.

Jameson Cohen grins though his friend, Topher Sharp is more skeptical.
Mary Shell

Jameson Cohen grins though his friend, Topher Sharp is more skeptical.

Mary Shell

"The 'Dumbo ride' is for little kids, but I still like it."

A mother calms an overwhelmed toddler by the ferris wheel.
Mary Shell

A mother calms an overwhelmed toddler by the ferris wheel.

Brightly colored decorations contrast with the Armory's dark and drafty space.
Mary Shell

Brightly colored decorations contrast with the Armory's dark and drafty space.

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