When the James E. Strates Carnival staked its tents near downtown Washington, DC, in the spring of 1941, Library of Congress archivist Charles Harrell was there to meet it. He was part of the Library's Radio Research Project, a small group dedicated to recording Americans "speaking without script, discussing their problems, telling eloquently the story of their regions, the story of their own experience -- their songs -- their folklore." The carnival, basically in the Library's backyard, was a perfect opportunity.

The Strates carnivals are still in existence -- it is now the only remaining carnival company that travels the country by railroad -- but the show itself has changed a great deal over the past six decades. Fortune tellers and weight guessers, burlesque dancers and two-headed babies, Harrell's recordings capture the sounds of an era long gone.

Producer: David Miller / Executive Producer: David Isay / Music: "Frenesi," by Alberto Dominguez, performed by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra / Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Archival recordings courtesy of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Archival photos courtesy of Strates Shows. Special thanks to Ann Hoog. "Strates Carnival" is a co-production with City Lore.

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This piece is available in the following audio formats [4:50 min]:
		28.8 kbps Real Audio
		56 kbps Real Audio
		ISDN Real Audio

		intro
		transcript

		Recording of the carnival's fortune teller [1:33 min, RealPlayer required]
		Recording of the carnival's fat woman and thin man [1:24 min, RealPlayer required]
		Recording of the carnival's sideshow barker [1:35 min, RealPlayer required]
		Photo of Babby Betty, one of the carnival's attractions
		Strates Shows Web site
		Article about a human cannonball from the journal Good Bye!

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