I love county fairs -- always have. I don't know if it's the danger of the midway rides or the dangerous looking men who operate them, the excess of fried everything -- dough, bananas, ice cream, the people walking around with gi-normous stuffed animals, or the fragrant smell of livestock. I think I've almost broken my arm a few times sitting in the outside seat on one of those bobsled type rides with the airbrushed skiers on the backdrop and some guy in the DJ booth yelling "Do you want to go FASTER?" as the music blared from the speakers.

USA Today had a little item about how fairs are losing money and attempting to rethink the fair formula to attract more young people. They quote a 15-year-old who demands more rock music -- dude, Smash Mouth is playing at the Alameda County Fair in Oakland...along with KC & the Sunshine Band. Supposedly fairs are also adding things like rock climbing walls and smoothies. This is like the tirade I go on when I think about summer camps that offer pedicures. No, no, no! I'm not saying I have a solution for these fairs' money losing woes, maybe a few less cattle competitions or pig races. No keep the pig races.

As long as I've been going to fairs, there have always been a healthy amount of teenagers trolling the midway. It's a place where their parents can drop them off, they can get some drug-free adrenaline rushes off of rides like the Zipper, win a stuffed animal for the girl they are trying to impress and generally hang out. I have an idea for fairs -- hook up with "American Idol" and try to have auditions at your fair. That will pack em' in. Ok, this post was really just an excuse for me to write about my love of fairs...Any other fair freaks out there?

Posted by anastasia