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Conklin Shows
Conklin Shows was a traveling amusement corporation, and the largest in North America. The 75-year-old company operated traveling carnivals at various summer agricultural shows across North America and is based in Brantford, Ontario, and formerly also in West Palm Beach, Florida. The company has a long history in Canada, providing entertainment for generations of children and adults. The organization used to operate the midway services for some of Canada's largest summer fairs including the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, the Calgary Stampede, and Edmonton's K-Days. In 2004, Conklin Shows International route and equipment were sold to North American Midway Entertainment.
Two of the remaining companies, World's Finest Shows and Conklin Super Shows, still are part of the Conklin Group of Carnival Companies. World's Finest Shows' route includes more than 60 fairs, all in Ontario, Canada. They are both based in Ontario, Canada.
Conklin Shows, as it was known in Canada and the US, now operates under North American Midway Entertainment (NAME). The carnival provides the midway at fairs and exhibitions, including, Miami, Florida's Miami-Dade County Fair, Edmonton, Alberta's K-Days Calgary, Alberta's Calgary Stampede and Toronto, Ontario's CNE, The Canadian National Exhibition.
Conklin Shows was founded by James Wesley "Patty" Conklin, who was born Joseph Renker in 1892 in Brooklyn, New York, and died in 1970. He was brought up by foster parents. By 1906 he had begun selling peanuts without a permit at Madison Square Gardens whenever a circus was in town, and newspapers on the streets of New York, before becoming a sideshow host at Coney Island. When he was 21, his father dropped dead and Patty inherited CA$3,300 (equivalent to $90,867 in 2025). By 1915, he was running his own gambling games at various midways across the southern United States. After meeting James Wesley Conklin (1861–1920) around 1916, he adopted his surname, Conklin, as his own.
In 1916, Patty and J. W. Conklin established Clark & Conklin Shows. Lasting four seasons playing at various shows around the mid west, the company folded after the death of the father. In 1921, Patty moved full-time to Canada. He moved the show north to play at the Winnipeg Exhibition. Due to a problem with the fair, their participation was canceled. While returning to the United States with a train car full of prize merchandise, Patty stumbled upon a show just outside Winnipeg. They joined up with the operator of the fair, International Amusement Company and worked all of the remaining Canadian shows that year.
After working the road hosting small fairs coast to coast for 20 years, Conklin Shows bid on and won the midway contract for the 1937 Toronto Canadian National Exhibition. The fair, one of the largest in the world, was a prized show. By 1941, the company played at 98% of all the major fairs across Canada. To accommodate travel to the various shows, they ran a 45-car specialized train cars. Specialized boxcars painted bright orange 80 ft (24 m)long were fitted with custom doors to accommodate speedy loading and unloading of gear. The train carried 15 feature attractions and 21 rides and 700 people including performers and crews. Patty Conklin himself traveled in style with his CA$6,000 (equivalent to $115,906 in 2025) Mexican stylized 5-room 'mansion on wheels' private car.
Having the CNE contract helped turn it into a profitable company in the early 1950s Conklin Shows borrowed over half a million dollars and began to build permanent attractions on the CNE fairgrounds of Exhibition Place. In 1953 they constructed the Mighty Flyer, a wooden rollercoaster, that lasted until the early 1990s.
The early 1970s saw the company begin to diversify, including establishing Maple Leaf Village (now Casino Niagara) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, along with running a venue at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto.
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Conklin Shows
Conklin Shows was a traveling amusement corporation, and the largest in North America. The 75-year-old company operated traveling carnivals at various summer agricultural shows across North America and is based in Brantford, Ontario, and formerly also in West Palm Beach, Florida. The company has a long history in Canada, providing entertainment for generations of children and adults. The organization used to operate the midway services for some of Canada's largest summer fairs including the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, the Calgary Stampede, and Edmonton's K-Days. In 2004, Conklin Shows International route and equipment were sold to North American Midway Entertainment.
Two of the remaining companies, World's Finest Shows and Conklin Super Shows, still are part of the Conklin Group of Carnival Companies. World's Finest Shows' route includes more than 60 fairs, all in Ontario, Canada. They are both based in Ontario, Canada.
Conklin Shows, as it was known in Canada and the US, now operates under North American Midway Entertainment (NAME). The carnival provides the midway at fairs and exhibitions, including, Miami, Florida's Miami-Dade County Fair, Edmonton, Alberta's K-Days Calgary, Alberta's Calgary Stampede and Toronto, Ontario's CNE, The Canadian National Exhibition.
Conklin Shows was founded by James Wesley "Patty" Conklin, who was born Joseph Renker in 1892 in Brooklyn, New York, and died in 1970. He was brought up by foster parents. By 1906 he had begun selling peanuts without a permit at Madison Square Gardens whenever a circus was in town, and newspapers on the streets of New York, before becoming a sideshow host at Coney Island. When he was 21, his father dropped dead and Patty inherited CA$3,300 (equivalent to $90,867 in 2025). By 1915, he was running his own gambling games at various midways across the southern United States. After meeting James Wesley Conklin (1861–1920) around 1916, he adopted his surname, Conklin, as his own.
In 1916, Patty and J. W. Conklin established Clark & Conklin Shows. Lasting four seasons playing at various shows around the mid west, the company folded after the death of the father. In 1921, Patty moved full-time to Canada. He moved the show north to play at the Winnipeg Exhibition. Due to a problem with the fair, their participation was canceled. While returning to the United States with a train car full of prize merchandise, Patty stumbled upon a show just outside Winnipeg. They joined up with the operator of the fair, International Amusement Company and worked all of the remaining Canadian shows that year.
After working the road hosting small fairs coast to coast for 20 years, Conklin Shows bid on and won the midway contract for the 1937 Toronto Canadian National Exhibition. The fair, one of the largest in the world, was a prized show. By 1941, the company played at 98% of all the major fairs across Canada. To accommodate travel to the various shows, they ran a 45-car specialized train cars. Specialized boxcars painted bright orange 80 ft (24 m)long were fitted with custom doors to accommodate speedy loading and unloading of gear. The train carried 15 feature attractions and 21 rides and 700 people including performers and crews. Patty Conklin himself traveled in style with his CA$6,000 (equivalent to $115,906 in 2025) Mexican stylized 5-room 'mansion on wheels' private car.
Having the CNE contract helped turn it into a profitable company in the early 1950s Conklin Shows borrowed over half a million dollars and began to build permanent attractions on the CNE fairgrounds of Exhibition Place. In 1953 they constructed the Mighty Flyer, a wooden rollercoaster, that lasted until the early 1990s.
The early 1970s saw the company begin to diversify, including establishing Maple Leaf Village (now Casino Niagara) in Niagara Falls, Ontario, along with running a venue at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto.