The Peterborough Exhibition kicks off on Thursday and one young helper, 9-year-old Riley Wood, the self-described “co-boss,” is helping to set up shop. He’s worked at The Ex since he was 4 years old with his dad, who is the site boss.
“I like working the joint, calling people in, it’s fun. I also love the teardown,” said Wood.
The workers say every single day is different, you can never predict what will happen.
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“It’s nitty-gritty, it’s backbreaking, it’s sweating all the time. It’s hard work, you get up early and you work all day right into the night too,” said employee, Gail Brady.
But one worker, who goes by the nickname Mad Dogg, says the joy he gets from making the kids laugh keeps him coming back. He’s been working with The Ex for more than 10 years.
The carnival employees work 14- to 16-hour days and travel to many different towns from now until the Thanksgiving long weekend in October.
“We go to different fairs. Like next we go to Arnprior and Cobdon, so we’re heading East and then were heading west after that towards Niagara,” said Fallyne Dineson, who is in charge of the duck pond at the Exhibition.
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And workers told us to rest assured: their main priority is to make sure everyone is kept safe.
“That’s our main priority. You hear a lot about accidents in Ohio or the States. All of our rides we take and tear down every weekend so we know what to look for so it doesn’t happen,” said Mad Dogg.
And when the day is all said and done, the workers head back to their trailers where they live. It’s about 5-ft. wide, to 8-ft. long.
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