The decline of the county fair
Already done.
The El Dorado County Fair has come, and gone. It’s turning into the amazing shrinking county fair, and if the trend continues it may just disappear. Why do we have the fair in June? School is out, and they need kids spending money on the rides to make it work. If they wait till late summer, when fairs would normally be held, the kids have already headed back to school.
According the the fairs website, “The purpose of today’s fairs is to promote agricultural and animal husbandry, local resource and industrial promotion, education, entertainment, competition, youth development, and community outreach. Several trends over the years have allowed the fairgrounds to become revenue generating entertainment and exhibition venue that operates on a year round basis.” How can you have a “biggest tomato” or ” best tasting apple pie” or “plumpest chicken” contest, when the first tomato hasn’t even ripened on the vine?
I wish the fair would go back to being what county fairs once where. A place to show off local agricultural wonders, and have some fun. The fair has turned into a carnival, with a smattering of agricultural displays. Let’s hold the fair in the late summer, and emphasize the agricultural side of the show. Since the fair is already struggling, let’s have a make over where the interest in growing your own, and competing with others is the main focus. Sure, the kids will have gone back to school. So what? Hold the fair on the weekend. Give us a place to share and compete with others with real agricultural products. The time is “ripe” to re-emphasize the importance of fresh food, agriculture, and seasonality in our lives by bringing back the county fairs of the past.
Trey, with all due respect, your suggestion will not work unless your desired outcome is to host a glorified farmer’s market with ribbons.
As the 15 year manager of a small Michigan fair that has grown from 9,000 people in 1998 to 45,000 in 2012; I will tell you the overly romanticized perceived historic model of a fair does not work today and truthfully never did. Our county fair started in 1885 and back then they were booking acts and attractions to get more people to attend. From one legged tight rope walkers, side shows, carnivals and dare devils, just to name a few, the people came to see what they had never seen before, to get a thrill on the rides, and see a good race. The driving force behind getting people to fairs has never been to see who has the biggest or best tomato. That said, agriculture has and should be an important part of every fair, although that role is gradually changing into more of an educational emphasis. The agricultural aspects of a fair are what separate us from being just another festival. It is true our main stay used to be horse racing now referred to as the “demo derby” and horse pulls today commonly called “tractor pulls.” But if you look close, the clock from which the winner is named or the pounds one must pull have not changed. I often hear people say that we should bring back the old events, but being from Michigan, I’ll put it like this; we all love a classic 1965 mustang, but the truth is if Ford put that car out today it would fail miserably. With bias ply tires, am radio, carbureted motor, no positraction, prone to rusting, no air bags … well you get the picture.