This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. The study investigates the cultural production of the visual iconography of popular pleasure grounds from the eighteenth century pleasure garden to the contemporary theme park. Deborah Philips identifies the literary genres, including fairy tale, gothic horror, Egyptiana and the Western which are common to carnival sites, tracing their historical transition across a range of media to become familiar icons of popular culture.Though the bricolage of narratives and imagery found in the contemporary leisure zone has been read by many as emblematic of postmodern culture, the author argues that the clash of genres and stories is less a consequence of postmodern pastiche than it is the result of a history and popular tradition of conventionalised iconography.

Winner at the 2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Visit this fair full of magic, where a simple movement of the hand can set in motion all the rides. Once upon a time, my dad took me to a very special fair a long, long way from home. As soon as we arrived, he asked me to wave my hands in the air like a magician so that the lights would turn on or off as I pleased. “It’s amazing!” I shouted with joy. Today my dad has taken me to the fair, and you can't imagine how excited I am. It is a magical place, full of lights, colors, music and, above all, fun! However, this fair has something special that makes it different from the others... A witch has hung up her broom to become the driver of a flying train, a snow-capped Helter Skelter, and Bumper Cars that can zoom off to wherever the driver wants and ride through the venue... This fair seems to have come to life!

This book offers an extended consideration of the fairground showfront. It combines archival material, contemporary examples of fairs, and a sustained theoretical engagement with influential philosophies of surface, including recent work by Avrum Stroll and Andrew Benjamin, as well as the nineteenth century author Gottfried Semper. Semper’s work on the origin of architectural enclosure —formed from woven mats and carpets— anticipates the surface and material history of the showfront. Initial chapters introduce these philosophies, the evolution of showfronts, and the ways in which individual fairground rides and attractions are arranged to form an enclosing boundary for the whole fair. Later chapters focus on issues of spectacle and illusion, vast ‘interior’ spaces, atmosphere, crowds and surface effects. Informed by a wide range of work from other design and cultural studies, the book will be of interest to readers in these areas, as well as architecture and those curious about the fairground.

This book provides a unique and practical series of materials that help music teachers connect music education to young composers' everyday emotions and activities. Authors Michele Kaschub and Janice Smith, both veteran music educators, offer new ways to promote not only creative intuition in children but also independent thought, preparing students for a fulfilling relationship with music.

Jason Wood is Director of Heritage Consultancy Services, Lancaster, UK, and former Professor of Cultural Heritage at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.

Puck Fair, Ireland's oldest festival, was established by a royal patent in October 1613, granted to the Welsh planter, Jenkyn Conway, of Killorglin. It first became a famous, however, as a result of the parading and display of a male goat, which is awarded a crown and named as the King of the Town. 2013 saw the celebration of Puck Fair's 400 year anniversary, which was promoted and celebrated as part of The Gathering. This book was launched in August of that year, as part of these festivities.

This book presents a comprehensive history and analysis of Secret Cinema – the leading producer of large-scale immersive experiences in the UK. It examines how the company has evolved over twelve years from an experimental and artisanal organisation to a global leader in the field. The book focuses on the UK in late-2019, a point at which the immersive sector had grown significantly through its increasing contribution to GDP and its widespread recognition as a legitimate cultural offering. It captures an organisation and a sector transitioning from marginal and subcultural roots to a commodifiable and commercial form, now with recognisable professional roles and practices, which has contributed to the establishment of an immersive experience industry of national importance and global reach.