Belle City Shows Heads To The Sunny Bahamas

After closing its regular season at the Nov. 4-9 First Coast Ham Jam at a new flea market location in St. Augustine, Fla., Belle City Shows of Winter Springs, Fla., sent five rides and two games with Dick Carl to dates in Nassau, Abaco, and Freeport in The Bahamas, beginning Dec. 4.

The show will be there for 12 weeks. Belle City is owned by Mary J. Panacek, along with her son, Charles G. Jr., and his wife, Rebecca. The younger Panaceks were here for the Nov. 30-Dec. 4 combined conventions of the International Assn. of Fairs & Expositions, Outdoor Amusement Business Assn., and Showmen's League of America.

In charge of Belle City equipment in the Bahamas is longtime concession and office manager Albert Wade. His wife, Betty, is staying at their home in South Carolina to take care of their son, Jamey, who is recovering from a car accident.

Rides that made the trip were the Power Surge, Typhoon, Yo Yo, Ring of Fire, and a fun house. "Dick called me originally and Billy Clark of Smokey Mountain Amusements was lined up to go, too, but he backed out.

"My dad [Charles Panacek Sr., now deceased] did a little bit of business with Dick over the years. He has had the contract there for 12 years, and I think Deggeller played there with him in the past." Carl owned Crown Amusements, which he sold to the defunct Pugh Shows, and now operates as R.A.C Amusements Ltd.

"From everything I've heard, they make money. They're established events that the government is sponsoring," said Panacek. "From what I understand, there is no problem with security or the promoter.

"The weather is always good, and that's something you can't guarantee over here, especially in the spring. Besides that, if we weren't playing there, we'd be off the road, with no chance of making money, just waiting for our next spot."

The Ham Jam, which originated in Middleburg, Fla., where it was very successful, has been off the last few years. It was forced to move to a new location, the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, last year, and the flea market this time.

"Rain was the main culprit, but we didn't particularly like the location either. There was a rain threat all week and we got rained out on Sunday. We ended our season up a little bit. The spring was awful. Besides rain every week, there were two tornadoes. Around mid-June, things started picking up and the weather cleared up."

The season for Belle City has begun the last 30 years at the Citrus County Fair, Inverness, Fla., which was March 17-22 this year. "Then we remain in Florida for festivals and still dates before moving through Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee in the spring."

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