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Fairground is the common term applied to small, often mobile, British amusement parks. They tour the country and are erected on common ground, heaths or in parks.
Typically they consist of several medium sized rides, such as a merry-go-round (carousel), bumper cars (dodgems), and a number of other fairly confined rides - certainly nothing on the scale of a rollercoaster.
Fairground games include tests of skill for which prizes (fluffy toys, goldfish, sweets) are awarded. These may include darts (often thrown at playing cards), throwing ping pong balls into golfish bowls and a coconut shy ( coconuts balanced on posts - the contestant throws a ball at a coconut; if it falls, it has been won).
Sometimes there is a big top or circus tent.
Unlike American carnivals, fairs in England, Scotland and Wales are not the property of one owner, but a collaborative effort between families of Fairground Travellers. Descendant from the medieval strollers and players , who have followed this way of life for generations, theirs is a distinct culture related to their trade and nomadic existence. The routes they travel are usually inherited and are much the same from year to year. The average fairground is made up when a Lessee (usually the owner of a large ride) sublets ground and pitches to other families who bring their own rides, stalls and shows to make up a fair. This involves much negotiation and bargaining over who gets to put their stalls and rides where. Once the fair is over, the families go their separate ways, but will cross each other's paths regularly. Their sense of community is strong and few 'marry out' of the trade.
Since the late nineteenth century, fairgrounds in the UK have been run by a guild, known as the Showman's Guild of Great Britain and Ireland. This lays down laws for managing and running fairs, helps them organise fairs and settle member disputes and serves to protect them from deleterious legislation. Uniquely for an industrial body, membership is awarded on a hereditary basis.
Fairgrounds are very common at British seaside resorts, usually run by fairground families who have decided to settle down, in whole or part. Seaside fairgrounds usually do not have a circus tent.
Fairgrounds have sharply declined in popularity over the last few decades, although many families continue to follow their unusual lifestyle.
Show is the Australian term for a village, county, state or national fair. They range from small fetes to medium-sized attractions like the Luddenham and Camden Shows in New South Wales, to the all-encompassing Sydney Royal Easter Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales, which runs for two weeks and combines all the elements of an amusement park with those of an agricultural/livestock show as well as arts and crafts, shopping, restaurants, commercial stands, a national dog show and cat show, and stage and arena shows.
Notable British theme parks, which are are vastly bigger than the fairground and are not mobile, include; Chessington World of Adventures , Alton Towers and Thorpe Park.
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