Country United Kingdom Year founded 1976 | Founder(s) John and Anna Carter Traveling or static? Traveling | |
 | ||
Operator(s) The Carter Family and associates Status Touring during 2016 season | ||
Carters Steam Fair (no apostrophe is used in the name) is a travelling vintage fair. Founded in 1977 by John Carter (1942-2000), this family business is now managed by the second generation of Carters.
Contents
- Rides and attractions
- Switch from cash to tokens
- 2014 Token Obverse
- 2015 Token Obverse
- Models
- Television
- Film
- Music
- References
Carters operate and maintain a large collection of vintage rides and sidestalls, ranging in date from the 1870s to the 1960s, and every season they are travelled with vintage heavy lorries and traditional showman’s living wagons. The fair provides an opportunity to enjoy historic equipment and artwork.
Their operating base and restoration workshops are immediately adjacent to White Waltham Airfield, near Maidenhead, in Berkshire.
Rides and attractions
Carters Steam Fair is a travelling collection of rare working funfair rides, As at April 2016, currently touring rides with the Fair are:
Switch from cash to tokens
In 2014, Carters Steam Fair moved from taking cash payments at each attraction to a token coin system. As at April 2016, there have been two distinct minting productions featuring different designs. Both designs feature the representation of a Galloper ride horse on the reverse, along with the texts "Carters Steam Fair", "No cash value", and "No refund value" around the image on the coin's edge. Additionally, the text "1 Token" appears across the horse's neck horizontally in a rectangular box. All text is presented in block letters.
2014 Token Obverse
The obverse of the 2014 coin token features a representation of the comedian Harry Hill, wearing a paper Christmas cracker hat. Originally Hill was going to design an image himself for this first minting, but in the event he was also about to put on a stage show and was too busy to fit it in and so with his blessing, Carters put his portrait on the coin instead.
2015 Token Obverse
The obverse of the 2014 coin token features a representation of the late John Carter whom in 1977 purchased the Steam Gallopers along with his wife Anna, and thus started what was to become Carters Steam Fair.
Models
A number of die-cast models featuring the name of and / or reproducing vehicles used by Carters Steam Fair have been produced;
Television
Film
The Fair has been featured in many films including;
Music
The Kaiser Chiefs Meanwhile Up in Heaven music video was filmed on the fair in 2014.