Spinning and dipping, Minnesota fairgoers delight in the classic Tilt-A-Whirl ride as it turns 100

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — With screams and giggles, whipping ponytails and white-knuckle grips, Minnesota fairgoers are taking delight in the magic of the Tilt-A-Whirl ride as it turns 100 years old.

The iconic ride and its brightly colored cars debuted at the Minnesota State Fair in 1926, and it has been a mainstay at fairs across the country ever since. Riders who stumbled off the ride on Thursday spoke with The Associated Press about the ride, which is a favorite for many.

Valerie Nelson, a Minnesota native who returned to her home state to visit the fair, said she first rode the Tilt-A-Whirl as a child in the 1970s.

“It’s my favorite ride forever and ever,” she said. “Whenever I see it, I try to get on. I love the spin when it pushes you back into the chair.”

“It’s the only ride I’ll go on,” said Sherri Gray, of Stillwater, Minnesota, who joined Nelson on the ride.

Samuel Mishek, 7, of Minneapolis, also said the Tilt-A-Whirl is his favorite fair ride, and he rode it twice in a row Thursday — screaming while riding alone in a car as it twirled and jerked. “I like when there’s little bumps because you can get ready and you know when it’s going to turn really fast,” he said.

The Tilt-A-Whirl has been a tradition at fairs around the country since 1926. Herbert Sellner, an inventor for a manufacturing company in Faribault, Minnesota, created it after attempting to make a water ride with spinning boats — which failed and was destroyed in a storm. After that, his brother Martin Sellner suggested he make a land-bound version, according to Rice County Historical Society curator Jenna Nelson.

Nelson, who has sifted through the Sellner family’s history, said the longevity of Sellner’s invention can be attributed to its design.

“It really has stood the test of time in terms of how they machined it,” she said, adding that only about 1,000 cars were ever sold, and “all of that equipment is largely the same today.”

The ride is powered by seven individual motors around a circle — and gravity makes the car spin around its dips. Weight from the riders shifts the cars’ positions as they lean, sending the cars off balance, said ride operator Thomas Lauthier, who brings his Tilt-A-Whirl to fairs around the country.

Lauthier has been operating the Tilt-A-Whirl at the Minnesota State Fair for the last 12 years. He said Midwesterners have a particular affinity for the ride.

And many riders said the Tilt-A-Whirl has become a family tradition.

“As long as I can remember, when I was young my parents and my grandparents took me to the fair, we rode the Tilt-A-Whirl every time. We love to bring our kids and do the same thing,” said Mike Pream-Anderson, a Minneapolis native. “It’s definitely a family tradition. Knowing that it’s 100 years old this year is pretty crazy, but I’m glad that we get to be a part of it.”

Friends Riley Lovett and Molly Rossbach relived their ride with giggles and nostalgia, talking about the “butterflies” they got Thursday afternoon, and remembering the Tilt-A-Whirl rides of their past. Upon learning the ride was 100, Lovett high-fived her friend Rossbach, who proclaimed: “Happy birthday Tilt-A-Whirl!”

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Schmidt is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.