Ten things where local events are something to both treasure and regret going to. :)
1. The parade - It's the anticipation of going to the parade that works you up. Once it's started, you get to see friends, bands, local politicians, and even some weirdos. The fire trucks are always fun too. I miss all the local high school bands that use to go and I wonder why so few come now. I also miss the horses at the end of the parade.
2. Walking around the park event - it's nice to walk around because you get to see people you don't normally get to see all the time. It's more so now that my DD is in a different school district than all of her friends from pre-K. The only part is walking around for five hours with a five years old leads to a ton of whining toward the end because they get tired. And I get cranky because it was excessively hot and humid today.
3. The food - It's always good, but the prices may be a little high at certain booths due to them being fundraisers. Funnel cake, crab dip, meatball sandwiches, ice cream, popcorn, the list goes on and on. I had some chocolate ice cream and split a funnel cake with my DD. Waaaay too many empty calories.
4. The rides - Always overpriced and you wonder just how safe they are, but you still let your kids get on them, just as your parents let you ride the same rides when you were little. The Dragon Coaster, the cars, the little ferris wheel, the small carousel, and the little bouncy bugs are standard fair. No matter how lame the rides may be, they are the best thing in the world to a little five year old whose face lights up with excitement while they're on them.
5. The parking - You either have to walk forever across the field or if you're lucky, you get a spot pretty close to the fair. It's events like these that make you wish you were one of those people there with a camper so they could spend the day in comfort and not go home for a few hours to relax before the fireworks. They go back to their campers, eat relax, use a clean bathroom, and don't worry about fighting the traffic out after the fair is over.
6. The fireworks - They're on a smaller scale than what you would get at a professional ball game, but they always make you feel happy and like a little kid again. It's even better when you share them with a child so you can look at their face and see the wonder and magic reflected in their eyes.
7. The weirdos or the people missing a few cards from their deck - Every fair has them. The tween girl who is fifty pounds overweight wearing clothes three sizes too small. The same girl with her hair dyed a bright shocking pink, who in her mind, thinks she's all that and a bag of chips. Seriously...really? The woman in the parade who was on Howard Stern, dressed in some princess outfit. Underdog woman was her name then. She's been at the Septemberfest for a few years now and you wonder what goes on in that mind of hers. The boys who insist on wearing their pants hanging off their butts still. Another seriously...that is so over. It was stupid when it came out and it's still stupid now. The parents who let their kids under the age of ten come to the fair by themselves. Have they seen the people who come to fairs? Letting your child come to a fair alone is NOT a good idea.
8. The crafts - They have a ton of booths with local crafters selling everything from hair clips, to home decor, to jewelry, and sand art. Try getting your child away from one of these things without them screaming for you to buy them something. If your child is the well mannered one, then I am happy for you. Mine is the one who cries and says life isn't fair when I say no. Punishment, timeouts, not buying things...it doesn't work. I'm hoping it's a phase she'll grow out of because all it does is make me not want to go near the booths and it's hard to do that because I like to look at the crafts for ideas.
9. The photos - Even though I ended up taking my little point and shoot today, the fair is always a great photo op time. You get lots of colors and tons of smiles that will look great on a scrapbook page.
10. The memories - Local events give you a ton of great memories. Even with the whining, the crying, the heat, the humidity, the biting bugs...you still get the rides, the fireworks, the family time, and the chance to talk to friends at a relaxed event. Fairs and local events are what makes great childhood memories and that's why we still go to them as adults. We like to capture a little bit of that magic back for ourselves and share it with our children.
