Moonwalker.Fan
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By Gina Kim
gkim@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
State fairgoers can get their teeth whitened, buy a whole house fan, and eat what's purported to be the world's largest waffle cone in a single visit to the California State Fair.
So it's not much of a leap that people would be able to pay homage there to Michael Jackson, too.
Four carnival rides from the King of Pop's former Santa Barbara County home – Neverland Valley Ranch – are making their debut at the State Fair, which has a "Weird, Wild, and Wacky" theme this year.
"It's been a huge attraction," said Corey Egel, State Fair spokesman. "People want to be a part of what was such a big piece of our pop culture."
Butler Amusements, which operates the State Fair rides this year, bought six of the rides last fall in a private auction of some of Jackson's possessions, said Lance Moyer, Butler's operations manager.
All were in excellent condition and simply had to be repainted and minimally refurbished since most were used infrequently, said Moyer.
"To be honest, we never really thought about them in an advertising type of way," Moyer said. "We just bought them to use like the rest of the rides we own."
When one of the rides was put to use at the Riverside County Fair in February, the company didn't publicize that it had been owned by Jackson, Moyer said.
But after Jackson's death in June, from a combination of sedatives the entertainer purportedly was administered to help him sleep, Moyer said the company sent out news releases promising free rides on one Jackson amusement at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton and another at the California Rodeo in Salinas.
People lined up, Moyer said.
Moyer estimates that the four Jackson rides in Sacramento attract 15 percent of the ridership on the 62 amusements at the State Fair. The other two Jackson rides Butler bought are at Coney Island in New York, and the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Wash.
Jaimito Ochoa, 9, was on the lookout Tuesday afternoon when he pointed to the "Dumbo" ride and the signs saying it was once owned by Jackson.
"He's one of my favorite artists," said Ochoa, a fifth-grader at Ellen Feickert Elementary School in Elk Grove who bought several albums after the singer's death.
His mother, Liz Ochoa, appreciates that the creator of "Thriller," "Off the Wall," and "We Are the World," transcends generations.
"I grew up with him," she said. "It's history now."
Jackson was accused of sexual misconduct with minors at the Neverland ranch, first in 1993, although no charges were filed. He was charged in 2003 with child molestation, but acquitted two years later.
"We all know the speculation surrounding Michael Jackson's actions, but the fact of the matter is he wasn't convicted," Egel said. "He had a deep love for children and families, and now his memory can live on through the laughter of those same children and families Butler Amusements takes those rides to."
Jason Salinas of Roseville posed for a family photo in front of a light-up yellow "NEVERLAND" sign sandwiched between two life-sized cutouts of the moonwalk pioneer. Then he set out to get his 3-year-old son, Justice, on as many of the rides as possible.
"It's part of California," Salinas said. "Not too many kids had the chance to go to Neverland, so bringing a piece here gives them a way to experience it."
Jessica Jones, 38, of Sacramento, didn't notice the A-frame sign with Jackson's image while watching her son and husband ride the Wave Swinger.
"Oh really? That's cool," she said simply. "He's Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. He's a legend."
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2154566.html
gkim@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 2, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
State fairgoers can get their teeth whitened, buy a whole house fan, and eat what's purported to be the world's largest waffle cone in a single visit to the California State Fair.
So it's not much of a leap that people would be able to pay homage there to Michael Jackson, too.
Four carnival rides from the King of Pop's former Santa Barbara County home – Neverland Valley Ranch – are making their debut at the State Fair, which has a "Weird, Wild, and Wacky" theme this year.
"It's been a huge attraction," said Corey Egel, State Fair spokesman. "People want to be a part of what was such a big piece of our pop culture."
Butler Amusements, which operates the State Fair rides this year, bought six of the rides last fall in a private auction of some of Jackson's possessions, said Lance Moyer, Butler's operations manager.
All were in excellent condition and simply had to be repainted and minimally refurbished since most were used infrequently, said Moyer.
"To be honest, we never really thought about them in an advertising type of way," Moyer said. "We just bought them to use like the rest of the rides we own."
When one of the rides was put to use at the Riverside County Fair in February, the company didn't publicize that it had been owned by Jackson, Moyer said.
But after Jackson's death in June, from a combination of sedatives the entertainer purportedly was administered to help him sleep, Moyer said the company sent out news releases promising free rides on one Jackson amusement at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton and another at the California Rodeo in Salinas.
People lined up, Moyer said.
Moyer estimates that the four Jackson rides in Sacramento attract 15 percent of the ridership on the 62 amusements at the State Fair. The other two Jackson rides Butler bought are at Coney Island in New York, and the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Wash.
Jaimito Ochoa, 9, was on the lookout Tuesday afternoon when he pointed to the "Dumbo" ride and the signs saying it was once owned by Jackson.
"He's one of my favorite artists," said Ochoa, a fifth-grader at Ellen Feickert Elementary School in Elk Grove who bought several albums after the singer's death.
His mother, Liz Ochoa, appreciates that the creator of "Thriller," "Off the Wall," and "We Are the World," transcends generations.
"I grew up with him," she said. "It's history now."
Jackson was accused of sexual misconduct with minors at the Neverland ranch, first in 1993, although no charges were filed. He was charged in 2003 with child molestation, but acquitted two years later.
"We all know the speculation surrounding Michael Jackson's actions, but the fact of the matter is he wasn't convicted," Egel said. "He had a deep love for children and families, and now his memory can live on through the laughter of those same children and families Butler Amusements takes those rides to."
Jason Salinas of Roseville posed for a family photo in front of a light-up yellow "NEVERLAND" sign sandwiched between two life-sized cutouts of the moonwalk pioneer. Then he set out to get his 3-year-old son, Justice, on as many of the rides as possible.
"It's part of California," Salinas said. "Not too many kids had the chance to go to Neverland, so bringing a piece here gives them a way to experience it."
Jessica Jones, 38, of Sacramento, didn't notice the A-frame sign with Jackson's image while watching her son and husband ride the Wave Swinger.
"Oh really? That's cool," she said simply. "He's Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. He's a legend."
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2154566.html
