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Traveler: Amusements of America & BBQ on a Stick at Coastal Carolina Fair

Posted in Events, fair, Food, Travel, tagged Amusements of America, Coastal Carolina Fair, deep-fried barbecue on a stick, Derek Porter, fair food, food on a stick, Hanna Raskin, South Carolina on November 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Amusements of America at the Coastal Carolina Fair in Ladson, South Carolina. October 30-November 9, 2014. Photo via Coastal Carolina Fair Facebook

Fair season is in full swing in the Southeast with the 11-day Coastal Carolina Fair in South Carolina’s Charleston County wrapping up this weekend. Amusements of America has played the fair for over 50 years and this year’s midway boasts 65 rides including such thrillers as the Crazy Mouse, Banzai, Space Roller and Tornado.

Check out the new fair foods reviewed by Hanna Raskin, food critic for the Post & Courier, who liked the deep-fried barbecue on a stick enough to consider ordering it for an off-fairgrounds lunch. Concessionaire Derek Porter’s Eastern Carolina whole hog barbecue is saturated with vinegar, a flavor that stands out in the Coastal Carolina Fair’s sea of sugar and salt, Raskin writes. “The barbecue is encased in sweet hushpuppy batter, which fries up impressively free of grease.”

Also on the new foods menu at the fair–Netterfield’s Frosted Flake chicken tenders-on-a-stick and Prowant’s Specialties’ deep-fried Sugar Daddy and pumpkin funnel cake with cream cheese icing.

Next week, A of A heads to the November 11-16 Okefenokee Fair in Waycross, Georgia.

Photo via Coastal Carolina Fair Facebook

Summertime Has Gone Away, Polar Bears Are Here to Stay

Posted in Events, video, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island Polar Bear Club, Jim McDonnell, Winter Swimming Club on November 3, 2014| 2 Comments »

Coney Island Polar Bear Club. November 2, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

On Sunday, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club went for their first swim of the season. “Summertime has gone away, Polar Bears are here to stay,” the Bears chanted as they warmed up by doing jumping jacks on the beach.

The Club swims at 1:00pm every Sunday from November through April. Membership is currently closed but you can join them for a guest swim. Just turn up at the Bears Clubhouse at the Aquarium’s Education Hall on the Boardwalk at West 8th Street by 12:30pm with your bathing suit, a towel, surf boots or an extra pair of sneakers, and some warm clothing. Or welcome the New Year by joining the annual January 1st Polar Bear Dip in Coney Island, a fundraiser for Camp Sunshine.

Polar Bear Club member and filmmaker Jim McDonnell shot this short video of Sunday’s swim to mark the 111th season of the winter swimming club. It was a windy day on the beach and boardwalk with air temps in the 40s.

Fave Spots to Photograph Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade

Posted in Events, Photography, tagged Barry Yanowitz, Coney Island, Coney Island USA, judge, Mermaid Parade on June 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The 32nd Annual Mermaid Parade gets rolling on Saturday at 1:00pm. The free event is one of the most hugely crowded days of the year in Coney Island. If you’re not marching, where are the best places to spectate and take photos? Anywhere along Surf Avenue from the parade’s starting point at West 21st Street to West 10th Street, where it turns to go onto the Boardwalk. You’ll miss the antique cars and motorized floats if you opt for the backdrop of the Cyclone on West 10th and the seaside atmosphere of the boardwalk. This year, the parade disbands at Steeplechase Plaza, where the Parachute Jump is located on the boardwalk at West 17th Street.

ATZ asked photographer Barry Yanowitz, who grew up in Coney Island and whose splendid photos from past parades are featured in this post, to share his strategy for Saturday. “On the parade route itself, my favorite spot is across from Nathan’s – that makes a great backdrop. The only problem is that this spot gets very crowded very fast so you have to stake out a spot early.” Yes, it bears repeating. GET THERE EARLY. Latecomers will not be able to navigate due to the crowds and crossing Surf Avenue while parade is in progress is iffy due to NYPD barricades. (more…)