Went to a local fair the other day, a big, well-established event that’s been around for over a century and a half. We’ve been to previous editions of it and in some ways it’s always the same itinerary—searching out some good food, maybe trying something new, perusing the exhibition buildings, avoiding the myriad hawkers of over-priced wares, perhaps running into someone you know. In some ways, it has the look and feel of a circus, but in general, it’s just taking in the sights and sounds and aromas.
In one of the buildings, there was the inevitable display that could be entitled “A Trip Down Memory Lane,” the kind of stuff one can find hanging on the walls in Cracker Barrel, only the real things, not manufactured facsimiles. Seeing this stuff always gets me thinking about why it is that we need such displays, or why they often conjure such warm and fuzzy feelings.
Yes, it’s about nostalgia, a longing for times that, from our current perspective, seemed simpler and somehow better. I’ll admit to liking that feeling, wanting to linger in it. I guess it’s one of the charms of such an event— it fills the senses, sparks the child in us. We get to reminisce and indulge our appetites, we ooh and ahh at the talents of local artists and craftspeople of all ages, marvel at the size and majesty of a work horse, or simply gaze at the more pedestrian blue ribbon-worthy plate of zucchini and artful arrangements of zinnias.
We walked a lot, eventually had our fill of the crowd and the noise, and will probably be back next year.
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