[an old observation of an American summer past time written for an English class in 2007]

Let’s All Go To the Fair!

Ahhhh! The smell of kettle corn freshly popping, meat on a stick grilling, corn dogs baking, funnel cakes frying, and cotton candy twirling round about a stick-- fragrances such as these can instantly transport many an adult to the days of youth’s endless summer! Or else ignite the hopeful gleam in the eye of a child who envisions bellies stuffed with treats after getting tossed and thrown about on midway rides. Yet, my last outing to our local fleecing known as the Salem Fair led me to notice that most fair attendees, or dare I say, devotees, could easily be compiled down into a few select groupings, all of which can disastrously reinforce many a negative stereotypes of the “average” American to an outside observer! This turn about the fair, I was aided by viewing the goings-on through the perspectives and incredulous eyes of "Marco" and "Alma Rosa", two Ecuadorian vendors traveling across America with the fair. In talking with them, I gained another vantage point with which to scrutinize the parade of humanity at this, Americana’s summer ritual.

Perhaps in days before modern recollection, people really did gather at the local county fair to sell farm products; compete in events for various bragging rights about producing, raising, or making the fattest farm animals or tastiest food; and have a chance to be social with neighbors they’d likely not see again for a long while. In those days, I imagine that the family and the community as working units were reinforced; probably a vital element necessary in our nation’s early expansion of the “frontier”. However, the vestigial remains of those distant days barely resemble its forebears. Most of today’s rather homogenized profit-first “fairs” appear to be but a surface facsimile of the original, and of poor quality at that. Why, then, do we keep going?? Well, the first group that clamors to the gate, in line to buy the “pay-once-play-all-day” unlimited rides armbands, are the thrill seekers. From five-year-old boys trying to be brave to sixty-year old grandpas trying to be “hip,” collectively our country’s members love to defy death and get a cheap thrill in the deal. Have our lives here in this country gotten so mundane, and has our communal existence become so easy that we need to hop on rickety, rusted contraptions of metal to whirl, twirl, spin, and otherwise jostle ourselves till were dizzy, ill, or nearing heart failure... just to feel alive?!! How would someone living in Rwanda, Kosovo, or Columbia view our apparent disregard for life? Wouldn’t we just come off as the “crazy Americans” who don’t have enough fear as part of daily existence that we have to manufacture and mimic real physical terror for family fun?

Next we have two groups of fair-goers that could almost be gathered into one larger category. These two fair devotees can be easily recognized by an overly stuffed wallet and a lustful glint in their eye. Collectively, I call them the consumers…the fair goers that are there for one of two purposes. Either the consumers are there for the food, or for the shopping. Foodies are easily recognized by the glazed over daze as they stumble around the fair, dreaming of finding the cheapest food fare and gorging themselves on calorie- and fat-laden food {I use the term "food" here rather loosely!} Simply noticing the trend of this type of attendee coming in their own “super-sized” physique leads me to immediately conjure the image of the greedy, hungry, consumptive American trying to get his fair share, a veritable whale gleaning as much krill as possible! Only in this country do we expect to always get our money’s worth, even if it’s at a cost of our physical health and well being. But I digress…
The foodies counterparts are here for the shopping, and fair managers are starting to cultivate their attendance with ever-growing numbers of tent vendors, booth sales, clearance shops, and auction tents. I noticed that this fair seemed to spawn as many sale signs and ads as the day-after Thanksgiving sale at Best Buy. The epitome of the modern image of the ultimate American shopper: wallet full of credit cards and an itch to spend as much money as possible in the pursuit of the best “deal,” yes, they swarmed all over the fairgrounds this year as well.

My ultimate favorite in this cavalcade of American stereotypes resides in the attitudes and actions of the group that go to the fair for the games. Don’t we all know the term for carnival game attendants? “Carnies,” right?! Now, isn’t there something in our collective knowledge that connotes a “carnie” as a scam artist? Yet, droves of fair goers clamor to find the biggest {insert gaudy, useless, cheaply manufactured, and overpriced adjectives here} prize and attempt to con the con- artist into getting it for the price of one game. Oh joy, I love to see people play the “I’m-onto-you-so-you-can’t-scam-me” game. No one ever wins, irregardless how shrewd one tries to be. And yet the game goers protest the loudest that they know the scam and will still triumph. Wow, sounds similar to the rhetoric from a lot of politicians; I bet our outside observer would agree!

Maybe I looked at the fair through jaded lenses this time. Or maybe I’m actually looking at the fair for the first time in my life. Either way, I don’t see a happy picture. If it weren’t for my masochistic proclivities, I’d probably skip next year’s prime people watching vantage point high atop the ferris wheel. After all, the whole thing, including the people who go there, just seems to further solidify one other American stereotype: there’s no thing as a free lunch... and fun at the fair cost big dollars! Oh wait, what’s that you say? There’s a fair in Highland County next week? See you at the fair!