The County Fair Is All About People.
Posted: Monday, August 03, 2009
by Mike Fak
http://mikefak.com
Well this will be my second go-around at covering the local county fair.
I learned a lot last year. The most important thing was that I couldn't be at both ends of the forty acre grounds at the same time.
Learning a lesson I will have plenty of help this year including two more reporters and a total of six cameras out there at any given time. I can push our resources to the fairgrounds since the town pretty much closes down and moves their wares and fares and foods to the fairgrounds anyway.
I hope to be able to change that this year at least a little bit. We plan on taking as many pictures of kids and their award winning fruit or paintings or steers or rabbits as we can.
That is the beauty of the internet of course. We have all the room in the world for pictures and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't end up around 200 total for the week.
We wrote an article on fair volunteers for the week and I was startled to find out our own little fair has more than 150. And the number might be low since not everyone who helps cares to receive any recognition. That tells me that whether I understand all of this or not it is important to the folks in the county. So I will suffer between pork chop sandwiches, fries and a beer or two at the end of each night to gather all I and we can about this year's fair.
I'm a city boy so I don't understand all the different kinds of pigs or chickens or sheep. I can't tell you the name of one flower over another nor the difference in one good cake or pie against another good cake or pie.
I will leave that to my country bred reporters to report while I just walk around looking for those special pictures. I will look for that baby with corndog smeared all over its face. Or that initial reaction when a youngster finds his prize winning rabbit was donated back to him to keep after the auction.
I will look for that grandpa with the grimace on his face as the granddaughter puts her hands in the air on a ride grandpa wishes she didn't want to go on.
I will find that perfect look on a horses face when he gets a good combing. And I will watch a young man give a wash to a steer that weighs ten times his owner's number.
I will look for young couples holding hands on their first fair date and I will look for that elderly couple that walks the midway together with decades of memories swirling in their minds.
I will look for the cleanest kid as well as the dirtiest and I will look for that grimace on a baby's face when it tries a French fry with vinegar sprinkled all over it which is popular in these parts.
Yeh, I'm a city boy and I don't understand any of this but I do understand people and that is really what a fair is all about.
Just so you know. First day: 51 pictures published, no fries or pork chops or beer yet. But I will catch up with the snacks after I get in my groove. It is a long week
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Great article. Well done.I'm a bit of a country boy. I live out in a little town where it is 15 miles to the nearest supermarket!This week where I live there is a bit week long festival where the whole town gets out and takes part in activities. Tonight (tuesday 4th) I'm expected to take part in a 5Km run!Thanks Connor. I once almost went 5 K but then I pulled my car over exhausted.Mike
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