But instead of screaming children and smiling parents, observers were only interested serious looking men with badges on their belts and clipboards in their hands.
A team of 12 inspectors from the Department of Public Safety spent the last two days, the inspection of the 50 games that really start spinning when the fair opens tomorrow.
Inspections are required by the state as part of the fair's license to operate. The inspectors toured the fairgrounds in groups of three, running down a checklist of 18 points on each trip to Freak Out Dragon Wagon.
"I feel that the games are very safe," said EJ Dean of Fiesta Shows, the company Seabrook, New Hampshire, which has been supplying the fair games carnival since 1949. "I have a 4 year old and a 7-year-old nieces and nephews. We certainly do not want them to go to anything that might endanger them."
According to the state of "inspection checklist amusement device," the inspectors to review dozens of articles on every trip - Seat belts for passengers, stairs and ramps, bolting visible, emergency control devices, brakes, hydraulic systems, adjacent hazards.
The inspectors also check the records of tour operators, who must be trained.
In addition, rides are inspected daily from Fiesta Shows Fair own certified mechanics, according to Jack Silar, an insurance inspector also examines the attractions.
Silar, former general manager of Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, rode about half way in a golf cart yesterday, stopping to talk to government inspectors, and examining rides like the Merry-Go-Round and the Polar Express .
At one point, Silar viewed under a Cobra drive to answer a question one of the state inspectors had on recent repairs.
Asked how safe the rides are the Topsfield Fair, Silar said: "I am sure that all efforts that can be done has been done. The size of the inspectors is probably better than it has been."
Fiesta Show "has no reportable incidents" in its safety record since 2005, when the state revised its regulations, "said Terrell Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
Danvers child 8 years old suffered head injuries in a rollercoaster ride for children in 2002, but a Department of Public Safety investigation said the injury occurred when the boy was partially lifted before the trip stopped.
Dean said most of the Topsfield Fair rides were built in the mid 80's or later, and some, like the Exodus Star Ship, are new. The Tilt-a-wheel-and date-Round Merry-Go back to the 70, said.
Fiesta Show breaks all the rides and put them back together as it travels from show to show, more than 50 years throughout New England. Dean said the constant deconstruction allows mechanics to get a closer look at the internal parts of each trip and make sure it is in good condition.
"There is no human element in what is the potential for error," he said. "But you can greatly reduce the amount of participation that for each device."
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