J. Barton Mitchell

Carnival, Los Angeles, April, 2012

Recently, a traveling carnival set up shop in a park near where I live in Los Angeles. I always loved these things, even though most of them are run down and rusty (and probably not the safest way to spend your time). The idea of traveling from place to place is romantic in a way, though the reality, I have no doubt, is quite different. It also goes back to my love of Bradbury’s SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. One of my favorite scenes in that book is where Will and Jim sneak out at night to watch the train bringing the carnival into town arrive…Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show.

I don’t know why, but these little theme parks always seem to pop up out of nowhere. They just materialize in some random location, with no warning of their arrival. I always try and stop by them when they do.

Carnival, Los Angeles, April, 2012