This coming week is our county fair and the heatwave is right on time since it always feels like county fairs in Kansas are held during the hottest weeks of the year. This begs the question, why would anyone let their children spend an entire week during dangerously hot weather mostly outside without air-conditioning?
My mother had a love-hate relationship with the county fair. She spent weeks fighting with us to finish the projects we were procrastinating to complete, dragging us out of bed in pre-dawn hours to get to the wash racks with our animals so they would dry before the show, finding and then keeping clean four sets of white show pants, and the logistical nightmares of kids, projects and animals all needing to be everywhere at the same time.
By the time I was fully participating, mom had endured years of fair-related stress with my three older siblings. She changed tactics one year and offered to pay me not to exhibit anything. I remember declining and committing to being prepared with everything done on my own. History repeated itself and a typical stressful fair ensued.
It has been 20 years since I was an active exhibitor at my county fair, and I probably still have a few ribbons, pictures with my animals and even one or two of those old projects in storage. The things I really cherish from the fair are my memories.
I have lots of happy memories from the fair, but the most vivid ones are less than magical. I remember the nervousness of walking into a ring with an animal that was unpredictable because I hadn’t worked with it enough, the embarrassment I felt when I realized in the show ring that in my busyness I only clipped on side of my heifer and disappointment when projects that were magnificent in my head ended up with low placings because they just weren’t that good.
The county fair feels like such a big deal when you are a kid but as an adult I see that it is actually a great place to fail. Exhibiting at the county fair is voluntary, it gives a reason to learn a new skill or create something and exhibits are a reflection of the preparation and work of an exhibitor. The only thing to lose from the experience is a bit of pride if you fall short of your own expectations.
It’s never fun to fail at something but being at a fair may have softened the blow. It is a lot easier to bounce back from a disappointment when carnival rides and fair food are waiting just down the midway and your friends are calling your name.
Exhibiting at the county fair gives kids a reason to learn, an incentive to work hard and a small dose of reality about the skills they will need to be successful in life. That is why parents let their kids spend a week in dangerous heat or repeat the same, inevitable stress load every year.
If you find yourself at a county fair this summer, I hope you will check out the youth exhibits, take in a round of showmanship or walk through the animal barns. Don’t forget to really look at the kids around you, to see them failing and having fun doing it!
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service. Jackie Mundt is a Pratt County farmer and rancher.
