Fairs and Festivals

Artist Statement

I grew up spending a week at the county fair every summer. Our family was a 4-H family. My mom occasionally taught sewing or flowers, and my father was an active fair board member. All the kids raised steers for the fair at some point. We did not get an allowance, instead, we kept the money from the sale of the steer each year. I remember using the showstick to “set up” my steers, the smell of hairspray and pomade used to fluff their coats, and the panic caused by that occasional wild steer in the showring.

However, showing and tending to our animals was only a small part of the fair experience. We had the run of the midway the rest of the week, and I grew to love the colors, lights, smells, and sounds there. That part of the fair was devoted to entertainment; it was where romance happened and where you learned that you were brave enough to go on that ride after all.

I still love the midway and my summer is not complete without a visit to a county fair or festival. Each has its own character, reflecting the values, strengths, and limitations of the surrounding community. Fairgoers are treated to a glimpse into a different world— one that is both familiar and full of possibility. These events are liminal spaces, where strangers set up camp for a week and the different strands of a dispersed rural region coexist for a day.