Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Death of a Tradition?
I just read that Nebraska's fair faces extinction. The buildings are crumbling, attendance is down, and the fair is a money-loser.
"There's so much other stuff for people to do nowadays," said a 77-year old mechanic. "When I was young, you came here and made a day of it, brought a picnic lunch. Now people are kind of bored when they come here--especially the young people."
Honestly, I got bored when I went to the 4H Fair while I was back in Iowa this July. I wandered around a bit, reminisced about all my youthful summers spent there, but then I had an overwhelming sense of having not only grown up, but outgrown.
But I'm a stickler for tradition (my whole family is). And it makes me sad to think that other children might not have the same chance to display their craft projects and show the livestock they've cared for all year, not to mention be able to run wild the week of the fair.
Luckily, Iowa's State Fair is not facing a similar fate. In fact, USA Today ranked it #2 in its "Top 10 Places America Goes To Have Fun." That was right behind Sin City and right before Times Square. (My mom was so proud she clipped the article and taped it to our kitchen cabinet.)
This was the 150th birthday of the Iowa State Fair and there were over a million visitors. Perhaps the most notable feature of the fair? A 550 pound sculpture of a cow--made of out butter! There's always a cow and for the past 45 years, "Duffy" Lyon has been the sculptor (pictured below).
A second buttery buddy usually makes an appearance. In the past, it's been President Eisenhower, John Wayne (Iowa native!), Hansel and Gretel, and the Peanuts comic strip characters. This year: a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." The piece attracted praise and criticism across the country, and was the subject of a Des Moines Register editorial that jokingly questioned the constitutionality of the religious sculpture because it was funded by public money.
Nebraska's last hope is that voters will pass a referendum channeling 10% of casino profits to the fair. Either that or pass the butter!
I just read that Nebraska's fair faces extinction. The buildings are crumbling, attendance is down, and the fair is a money-loser.
"There's so much other stuff for people to do nowadays," said a 77-year old mechanic. "When I was young, you came here and made a day of it, brought a picnic lunch. Now people are kind of bored when they come here--especially the young people."
Honestly, I got bored when I went to the 4H Fair while I was back in Iowa this July. I wandered around a bit, reminisced about all my youthful summers spent there, but then I had an overwhelming sense of having not only grown up, but outgrown.
But I'm a stickler for tradition (my whole family is). And it makes me sad to think that other children might not have the same chance to display their craft projects and show the livestock they've cared for all year, not to mention be able to run wild the week of the fair.
Luckily, Iowa's State Fair is not facing a similar fate. In fact, USA Today ranked it #2 in its "Top 10 Places America Goes To Have Fun." That was right behind Sin City and right before Times Square. (My mom was so proud she clipped the article and taped it to our kitchen cabinet.)
This was the 150th birthday of the Iowa State Fair and there were over a million visitors. Perhaps the most notable feature of the fair? A 550 pound sculpture of a cow--made of out butter! There's always a cow and for the past 45 years, "Duffy" Lyon has been the sculptor (pictured below).
A second buttery buddy usually makes an appearance. In the past, it's been President Eisenhower, John Wayne (Iowa native!), Hansel and Gretel, and the Peanuts comic strip characters. This year: a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." The piece attracted praise and criticism across the country, and was the subject of a Des Moines Register editorial that jokingly questioned the constitutionality of the religious sculpture because it was funded by public money.
Nebraska's last hope is that voters will pass a referendum channeling 10% of casino profits to the fair. Either that or pass the butter!
