There are a few people, fortunately very few, who apparently believe we should no longer have a county fair because we’re too urban and sophisticated. Well, admittedly it has been a while since I bartered using chickens, and we do have indoor plumbing now, but I think that misses the point.
We still enjoy renaissance fairs even though we no longer settle our differences by jousting. And we still have Civil War re-enactments despite the fact that everyone, outside of a couple of stubborn Southern states, has pretty much moved beyond that whole secession thing.
A fair is two things. It is a trip to a time we enjoyed, to a time of simplicity, self reliance, and resourcefulness. It’s a time in fact that has not entirely past. It’s true that you see very few sheep around the subdivision, which I think is kind of sad, but there are still farms. There are still fertile fields, barns, and people who know the difference between hay and straw.
A fair is also a celebration of the things regular people do, like raise rabbits, take pictures, bake pies, sew, build furniture, and a thousand other things. Circuses are for people who do extraordinary things, things we would never be able to do, like tame lions and walk a tight rope. Fairs are for ordinary folks. We may not be able to swing on a trapeze, but each of us can do something.
You never really know why people put down county fairs. Do they think fairs are low class entertainment and are beneath a cosmopolitan community? Perhaps. Do they want to make money, or have their friends make money, by selling the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton? It certainly looks like it sometimes. Or do they simply have the wrong idea about things?
Do they think, for example, that people are losing interest in the DuPage County Fair? If they do, they’re wrong. Attendance at any outdoor function is obviously dependent on the weather, but for the last three years fair attendance has been up. If anything, interest in, and the appreciation of, the fair by DuPage citizens is increasing.
Do they believe that things like the rodeo and the demolition derby constantly lose money? If they do, they’re wrong. The rodeo breaks even, or a little better, and the demolition derby does indeed make money. In fact, the demolition derby is incredibly popular and both events draw people to the fair, increasing general attendance and revenue. By the way, if you’re planning to scrap your old car, let the derby use it, then scrap it. Then you’ll get both money and glory.
Do the people who want to get rid of the fair believe that the grandstand needs to be demolished? If they do, they’re wrong. The upper level needs to be repaired, which only makes financial sense if the fair authority’s lease is extended, but the lower part is fine.
And the uninhabitable buildings, like a judging stand and a horse trailer, are “uninhabitable” simply because they’re not hooked up to municipal water and sewer. Well, who wants to hook up a horse trailer that they’re not going to use any more to the sewer? Nobody.
While Gov. Rauner would indeed like to cut Department of Agriculture funds to county fairs, that’s really up to House Speaker Michael Madigan, who understands the enormous economic benefit the fairgrounds provides due to all the varied organizations that use it the rest of the year. They would have no place to go if the fairgrounds are developed.
It may be in some people’s political or financial interest to make us believe the fair’s future is hopeless and that the fair authority simply “means well.” In reality, however, the fairgrounds are in fine repair, the public not only needs them but loves them, and the fair authority not only means well but has in fact done well.
Bill Mego is a freelance writer.