carnival, a traveling entertainment combining the features of both circus and amusement park. Developing out of the same roots as the early 19th-century circus—the “mud shows,” so called because they operated mainly in the open—carnivals traveled from town to town, bringing with them a few days of high excitement. In addition to mechanized rides such as the early merry-go-round, carnivals featured live animal acts, pony rides, sideshow curiosities, and games of skill and chance. The carnival barker announced the offerings to the crowd, sometimes promising more than could be presented. Carnivals soon developed a reputation for less than perfect honesty with the customers.
Small traveling carnivals persist in the second half of the 20th century, but they have largely been replaced by permanent amusement and theme parks.