Barnum Festival Booster

Yellow background with large red text curling around edges of button. In the center is a black elephant silhouette standing on a red platform with an eleven pointed black star burst outline around the elephant. Medium black text with a black rectangle border is beside the red elephant platform. A black circle outline is around the center starburst elephant image.

In April of 1971, McDonald’s Restaurants sponsored a Barnum Festival Booster to raise money. The Ringmaster of the circus at the time was Charles L. Batchelder. There was a Booster Button Committee, and the button sales revenue supported festival events. The booster was advertised in the local newspaper with a photo of McDonald Representative R.C. Taylor pinning one of the buttons to the Ringmaster’s lapel. 

The Barnum Festival in 1971 took place in Bridgeport, Connecticut at Seaside Park. The Festival had vendor stalls, small game stalls, and rides for festival attendees to enjoy. There was a ferris wheel, a pendulum boat ride, a paratrooper ride, and more. Attendees could win cute stuffed animal prizes at the game stalls. There was also a parade down the streets of town with many musical bands, the ringmaster, and many more performers. There was a mummers band in plumed red and white costumes, and cyclists on bicycles. There were elaborate parade floats and horse drawn carts. Clowns ran past with a red fire engine. Many citizens young and old lined the streets to watch the parade go by.