It’s all about the fair

The California State Fair. Oh joy. It is an event many of us look forward to so we could consume three times our daily calorie intake on the fried foods and sugary sweets the fair has to offer. After gorging on these culinary delights, we’d get close to regurgitating it on the stomach-twisting, twirly, spinny, upsidedown rides. Oh joyful memories.

Oddly as it sounds, those were such happy memories for me when I was a child. Naturally, I take my children so they could have the same fun experiences I had. The only difference is that I’m experiencing the fair from a different angle, as a parent.

Now I worry about things like sunblock, if the kids had enough water, if they ate too much junk, if I brought enough diapers and the list goes on and on. Top that off with a rambunctious toddler, and I am usually ready to go home after the first hour.

But aside from all that, the fair just did not seem quite as magical as it used to be. I am sure a good portion of that has to do with the pain of our country’s economic state, which was  so apparent at the fair. One main telling factor? There were no lines. No lines for food. No lines for games. No lines for rides. On top of that, you could wander around without bumping into people.

Granted, I went to the fair on a Monday when most people were at work or school, but I have never seen the fair so sparse. I’ve gone to the fair on a weekday before, and it was not quite this empty. I use empty for lack of a better word. I mean, there were still people around, but it was not crowded. For an event that only happens for a few weeks each year, you expect huge crowds. That wasn’t the case here.

If you think about how much a day at the fair costs, you can understand why it’s not drawing the crowds it once did. Not only do you have to pay for parking and admission, but the cost of food and rides is pretty painful. For example, one turkey leg is $10. That is more than Disneyland charges ($8). In addition, each ride ticket is $1 when each ride requires around three to five tickets. Now if you have a toddler or young child who needs you to accompany them on each ride, your ride price has just now doubled. Definitely steep for anyone’s pocketbook and is not the place to be for anyone on a tight budget.

There also seemed to be fewer vendors at the fair. I always enjoy walking around looking at the exhibits and visiting vendors during the day, to stay out of the heat. There just did not seem to be as many when I wandered through this year.

I enjoy watching the excitement on the faces of my children, but that is about all I got from the fair this year. For what it cost, it just did not seem worth it to me. Things just don’t feel the same. Hopefully, things will be better next year and the fair will get that festive atmosphere back.

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