In a timely post for families in the summer holidays, Simcha Fisher gives Ten Tips for Actually Having Fun at the Fair. Just understand that this may be part of the "two nations divided by a common language." In England, going to the Fair would be where you got locally produced honey, had a go on the coconut shy, and took children to the lucky dip before having tea and home made cakes. The Fair in this post sounds like what we would call a Theme Park (probably itself a borrowing from American.) I must confess that experience of taking groups of teenagers to these places makes me hate them intensely. The poor kids get ripped off soundly and get to go on about three rides unless they pay even more to jump the queue (cf. above photo from 2003.) I must join the Old Gits Society or something :-)
Still, I do understand that families have to suffer these places from time to time and I enjoyed reading Simcha's tips. I laughed at the advice:
Bring plastic bags. Trust me on this. Sooner or later, you will find yourself holding something that desperately needs to be wrapped up in a plastic bag.
2 comments:
The Fair in this post sounds like what we would call a Theme Park
Umm, not entirely - it sounds more like a travelling circus with carnival rides... and the riding the sheep stuff (mentioned in the comments) also shows the differences!
Everything's bigger in America! :) What Simcha's describing is a State Fair. At the heart of the State Fair is showing off the agricultural produce of the state and the talents of young people from the farms. There is judging of livestock as well as vegetables, handicrafts, and baked goods. The animals, at least, are generally presented by farm kids who have raised them. People will pay top dollar for an animal that has done well at the fair, so it's all about introducing kids to the farm business. For example, my grandmother raised and presented pigs at the fair in her early teens, and when she was 15 became a cattle judge. Later, as a married woman, she would go to the fair every year to buy a cow to be slaughtered for the family's dinners. There are also dog and horse shows - to demonstrate how well you've trained them.
At a big state fair the "midway" of games, rides, and food is as big of a draw as the animal barns, as you can imagine. And then the various industries and big companies generally set up pavilions - the New York Honey Producers Board or the Illinois Wine Makers Association or whatever. In the past, there were dances but now there are big mainstage concerts in the evening.
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