When I was in the UK attending grad school, I experienced my fair share of culture shocks - looking the opposite way for traffic before crossing the road, the overwhelming amount of options for Indian takeout, and saying “trousers” instead of “pants” (“pants” in the UK actually refers to “underwear,” and I’ll leave it to you to imagine the mortifying way I learned that linguistic difference).
I also did not expect the enthusiasm Europeans had for Christmas markets. In my experience, Christmas markets include mulled wine, ornament shopping and a veneer of faux-Bavarian charm. Now this was certainly included in Edinburgh’s Christmas Market when it opened in mid-November, alongside a massive Ferris wheel. When my Canadian roommate and I saw the installation in the City Centre, we, understandably, asked, “What in the world is that for?” To which my roommate’s British friend replied, “For the Christmas market, obviously.”
So therein lies my rudimentary understanding of UK Ferris wheel culture — the London Eye, Brighton Beach pier and annual Christmas markets. This is in contrast to us Americans, who need look no farther than our own county fair. Looking back on this memory, I realize how county fairs are a particularly North American concept, especially if we define a county fair as an exposition of livestock and agriculture, with rides, games and greasy food thrown in the mix.
However, the concept of a fair as an event wherein merchants and farmers show off their wares is thousands of years old, originating in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent. Considering that this region is commonly known as the “Cradle of Civilization,” fairs could be as old as agriculture itself.
The word “fair” likely originates from the Latin “feria,” which denotes a holy day set aside for worship. In many religions, temples and agriculture go hand-in-hand. Livestock were needed for sacrificial offerings, and temples were oftentimes built adjacent to fields. Many of us will recall our Sunday school story about Jesus’ reaction to animals in the Temple. Over time, “feria,” and then the English “fair,” came to mean any place where local or foreign goods were put on display and sold, and were usually days off from work where people could buy, sell, and enjoy whatever entertainment there was to offer.
Western colonization brought this concept to the New World, and, surprisingly, the first official county fair in North America is still celebrated to this day. Windsor, Nova Scotia, celebrated its first Hants County Exhibition in 1765 with the self-described goal of “hosting an annual agricultural exhibition to promote agricultural awareness,” a goal that continues to this day.
When it comes to the US, two fairs hold the titles of oldest and longest running, respectively. Many cite the Berkshire, Massachusetts as the first county fair in 1811, however, at the start, it was only an exhibition of animals without a market. Considering this distinction, Topsfield Fair in Essex County, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously running county fair, beginning just several years later in 1818, with minimal cancellations (e.g. WWII and Covid-19) in its over 200-year existence.
One distinctive feature of the modern fair is the midway, a location separate from the expositions with carnival rides, games, and food vendors. While this concept does not originate with the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, the 1892 event led to its widespread popularity. It's no wonder the Exposition’s midway set a trend that’s lasted to the modern day. Famous foods that saw their debut or popularity skyrocket following the Exposition include Cracker Jacks, Vienna Beef, Juicy Fruit gum and Aunt Jemima pancake mix.
Sideshows are another common trait of midways, however, ones which carry an exploitative connotation. While the Columbian Exposition did not have “Freak Shows” such as the ones made popular by P.T. Barnum, it featured fabricated villages showcasing a variety of “exotic” cultural groups, such as peoples from American Samoa, Lapland in Finland, and Bedouins of Algiers. While it’s great to be interested in learning about other cultures, I think we can all agree a display akin to a zoo exhibit is not humane, let alone respectful.
The early 20th century saw the addition of two more mainstays of county fairs, 4-H and Future Farmers of America programs, which aimed to get youngsters interested in agriculture and livestock. Today, 4-H and FFA are among some of the largest youth organizations in the country and many children start their journeys in these fields by showing at their county fair.
So as you enjoy the last couple days of the 154th Oceana County Fair - congratulating kids on their prize-winning pigs, watching the tractor pulls and racing, losing money trying to throw a ring on a bottle - take a second to think about how unique of an experience this is to North America and the history that led us here. Also, some early readers of “The 1306” will recall I’ve been angling for an opportunity to gab about the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, so I hope you will all allow me one last fun fact. When Chicagoans were encountered with the dilemma of topping the Eiffel Tower, unveiled at the Paris World Exposition several years earlier, Pittsburgh engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. proposed what would become his best-known invention - the Ferris wheel.
