Crowds enjoy thrills, fun at annual fair
August 7, 2005
By Bill McGovern IV
(Credit: NJHerald.com)
 Standing 127 feet in the air, atop the highest trapeze platform in the world, Galaxy Girl is not afraid. "I actually love it," said Tina Winn, 40, the high-flying acrobat's alter-ego.
And you could tell, as she swung the steering-wheel-sized platform back and forth before ending her performance with a handstand atop it.
"Remember, I have no nets, no safety devices and no brains," Winn told the crowd before performing the stunt on the fair's opening day.
Winn, her husband John, 48, and daughter, Ashley, 18, of Sarasota, Fla., come from a long line of acrobats, and continue to travel the world as Winns' Galaxy of Thrills, performing in locales such as Berlin, Germany and Osaka, Japan. They will be at the New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Farm & Horse show in Frankford all week.
"My husband's father was from seven generations of motorcycle stunt riders," Winn said. "My parents were circus performers, that's how we met. Our whole lives, we grew up in show."
John Winn has continued his family's tradition of motorcycle stunt riding, adding his wife to the act.
He rides a motorcycle around a track standing 50 feet in the air, while his wife is suspended alternately by her neck and feet from a trapeze, attached by a lever opposite the bike.
The Winns have passed their love of performance on to their daughter, who is a hula hoop champion and juggled 50 hoops at the same time during her own act.
Warren Welsh, executive secretary of the fair committee, performed his rooster call at the fair's opening ceremonies Friday, and had a few words to add about the meaning of the fair.
"Our theme this year is, 'Where farm meets fun.' There's a lot of agriculture out here. There's also a lot of fun — and that's the way we want it," he said.
Patriotism is another theme of this year's fair, committee President Lois Pellow said.
"You will notice that there are many, many flags and patriotic symbols around the fairgrounds. We decided to do this because of what's going on in the world today. We want people to know that the fair is a patriotic entity," she said.
Pellow expanded on Welsh's observations about the fair's official theme.
"The fair is many things to many people," she said. "Entertainment, education and a place for the community to come together."
"One of the visions of the fair is to prepare our youth for the future," said Buzz Tomasino, coordinator of the Fair Youth Ambassadors, a three-year-old program that encourages high school students to become involved in planning the fair.
"We're doing this so that when (these students) finish college and come back to Sussex County, they will want to be a part of this organization," Tomasino said.
Every year, the ambassadors sponsor a charity event during fair week. This year, it will be a putting green in support of NORWESCAP.
"(The profits are) going to teens all around New Jersey, and it's going to help them. We're really excited about it," said youth ambassador Rachel Tarrat.
Among the guests at the opening ceremonies were Assemblyman Guy Gregg, Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose, both R-Sussex, and Freeholders Glen Vetrano, Gary Chiusano and Steve Oroho.
The tradition of the fair, Oroho said, is one of Sussex County's most valuable assets.
"I love the fair. You can bring your family here. It is Sussex County, the most beautiful county in the state," he said.
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