Janice Byrd mans the Picture Palace booth at the Napa Town & Country Fair, where dart-wielding contestants test their skills by aiming for balloons lining the booth’s black backdrop.

Winners leave her post triumphant, toting mirrored photos of American icons.  

Bristling at the word “carnie,” Byrd, a Georgia native, said she prefers to be called an entertainer.

“Some people still look at us as having a bad reputation. ... But (we’re) not a bunch of drug addicts and runaways,” she said.

Byrd is one of a score of transient workers who run the rides, game booths and ticket huts at the Napa Town & Country Fair, where the Falling Star ride is king. The men and women skillfully lure beaming youngsters to their booths during their 10- to 12-hour shifts.

Like a turtle, Byrd travels with her home. Trading one city for another, the fair workers uproot themselves weekly when the fair hits the road again — their traveling home a dazzling landscape of fair colors, buzzers and flashing lights.

The workers hail from a dizzying number of states and countries — anywhere from California, Nevada and Iowa to Russia, Colombia and Turkey.

Cristian Perl, a few booths down from Byrd, is no exception. Perl, 21, came to the United States from Romania just five weeks ago. Charged with running the Prize Factory booth, he is surrounded by T-shirts featuring logos for bands including Black Sabbath, Nirvana and Slipknot, prizes at the ready for lucky or skillful fairgoers.

Because Perl is the sole Romanian traveling with the fair, communication can be a challenge, he said.

“It’s hard to express (my) feelings. ... You feel closer to people from your country. They can understand you better,” he said.

Despite his new status, Perl is easing into the routine of fair work. After waking around 10 a.m., he eats, showers, shaves and then starts prepping the booth. From noon to midnight, he entertains and entices passersby, breaking when fellow workers stand in for him.

Perl said in his native Romania, he worked as a promoter, merchandiser and assistant salesman, later attending the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. One day, he plans to earn a master’s degree in environmental economics.

Far from Perl’s post, Brett Gribble mans the Hot Shots Basketball Booth, stationed near the Starship and Ferris Wheel. At 22, this is the Cleveland native’s sixth year with the fair.

“I really just ran into it in Ohio because I was on my own pretty young and I stuck with it,” he said.

Unlike Gribble, Dewey Feyh joined the group just three weeks ago. Hailing from Pikeville, Ky., Feyh, who runs the carousel, said the hard labor of setting up the equipment pays off opening day.

“It’s the first day you get to relax and enjoy the crowd. The first day is the best day,” he said, a southern lilt in his voice.

Ken Fisk, an office manager who began traveling with the fair 11 years ago, said fair work brings together countless cultures and viewpoints.

“Everyone here is working together and living together 24-7. ... There are a lot of different personalities,” he said.

Fisk recalled a summer about six years ago when two medical students temporarily traded their studies to work at the fair.

“They worked on the rides,” he said. “But the rides were a little rough on their hands.”