'Every day is a carnival'

Life on the road works for carnival mom and kids

MOSES LAKE — Kelly Cleveland worked at grocery and convenience stores for most of her life, but when the carnival came to town needing workers, Kelly happened to need work.

"I thought I'd work for a week," she says. "But I liked it. I liked how people play your game and have fun. I loved the customer relations."

Four years later, Kelly is still with Davis Shows Northwest and works the Stick-a-Star game at the Grant County Fair. As she barks at fairgoers to throw a dart and win a prize, she scans the midway for a couple of her own prizes — sons Stephan, 8, and Matthew, 6, who have traveled with the carnival most of their lives.

From February to September and from Seattle to Reno, work life and home life are one in the same for the Cleveland family.

"Stephan! Matthew!" she calls. As if from thin air, two young boys materialize before her. And just as quick, they're gone. The boys dart in and out of the crowd, running and laughing. Kelly shakes her head.

She recalls her initial reluctance to bring her boys on the road with her. She said she brought them for a week to find out how well they would take to it.

The answer was well. Very well.

"At first they thought it was a vacation," Kelly says. Baited with all the excitement of the fair and unlimited free rides, the boys were hooked.

A fair ends on Sunday and a new one starts on Tuesday. Kelly and the boys make the circuit in a 36-foot trailer with three beds. During the school year, the boys live with Kelly in Walla Walla while she gets seasonal work. They stay with their grandmother, Velma, when the carnival season starts and rejoin their mother once school lets out.

After seeing how day-to-day life played out, Kelly said her apprehension about her boys' safety died down.

"This is like a big family," she says. "Nobody's going to let anything happen to those kids. Everywhere they go, someone has an eye on them."

The show has about a half dozen children traveling with it, ranging in age from 2 to 10 years old. All the kids seem playful and happy.

Stephan has been traveling with the show for half of his life, Matthew even longer, which has made family life easier, Kelly said. Their mother says it's gotten to the point that "every town they go to, they have friends."

The boys agree.

"All my friends are out here because I've been out here so long," Stephan says. The seasoned veteran says he likes the carnival life "because there's lots of space to run around, and I like to run around."

Still, the lifestyle is not without its drawbacks, as Matthew is quick to point out.

"Sometimes it's boring because the fair is closed and we can't go on rides," he says.

In spite of that, the boys say they realize they are different.

"You're lucky because you get to be at the fair," Stephan says. "Everybody wants to be like me."