Three Word Wednesday-Memories of the Western Fair

Banter; noun: The playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks; verb: Talk or exchange remarks in a good-humored teasing way.

Duty; noun: A moral or legal obligation; a responsibility; (often duties) a task or action that someone is required to perform; a payment due and enforced by law or custom, in particular.

Element; noun: A part or aspect of something abstract, esp. one that is essential or characteristic; (also chemical element )each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter. Each element is distinguished by its atomic number, i.e., the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms; • any of the four substances (earth, water, air, and fire) regarded as the fundamental constituents of the world in ancient and medieval philosophy; • one of these substances considered as a person's or animal's natural environment.

                                              This is me at age twelve flagging cars into our yard

                                 Memories of the Western Fair

       Do you remember that feeling, when you are a child and you hear that you are going to the fair? I do every year, when they announce the fair is opening in my hometown; I get as gleeful as a child remembering all the fun, I’ve had over the years.

      When I was young we lived near the fair and even flagged cars into our yard when the fairgrounds parking overflowed. Cars would park on the front lawn and the backyard for a dollar. Anywhere we could fit a car one was parked. After the money was collected by filling every spot, and we fulfilled our duties, my mother and father would give us enough to go to the fair and enjoy all the rides games and entertainment every day. It was often very little, or free for children to enter the fair.

    We take our ready cash and enjoy grandstand shows, and rides. We would savour the candy apples, their sweet chewy candy layer, melting in our mouths and then we’d reach the apple and enjoy the tart flavour of that too. Or appetite not yet satiated, we move on to the other delights. There were pogo dogs (hotdogs coated in cornmeal and flour and deep fried). Then there were the elephant ears, (also deep fried) pieces of pastry dough coated in cinnamon and sugar. There was the caramel corn, hot and fresh. Melt in your mouth corn syrupy goodness, on lovely popped corn. Then the candy floss, fluffy spun sugar, which dissolved in your mouth almost as fast as you put it in, and left you wanting a drink probably some orange drink you could only find at the fair to wash it down. 

   We’d then go on rides as children do and not throw up, purely out of sheer willpower. We ride the Holiday bounce and the Himalaya and comment on how similar we felt they were. We ride the Ferris Wheel and even though we were afraid of heights, it wouldn’t bother us. We’d look straight across and see the city of London, spread out in front of us and banter about how beautiful it was and what structures we saw. Sometimes we'd use our tickets to play the Birthday game and put down a ticket and invariably win a stuffed animal. We were very lucky at this game. We were in our element gamblers who were winning. Then we would walk towards the buildings. 

     We look in wonder, with great interest at the tables and displays set up to sell products in the buildings. People would ask us to enter draws to win things but we'd ignore them and pass on to see the London free press booth and the other booths that interested us. This building after all was where we could receive free stuff from people selling their wares. We’d walk up and down the aisles getting stickers and plastic bags with balloons, pens, magnets, erasers, colouring pages we’d pretend we weren’t too old for and rulers. To a child we believed we’d hit the jackpot. Free stuff we could enjoy not boring adult giveaways. 

    Tired but before we head for the Grandstand to watch free shows of big name acts like Chuck Berry or Bill Cosby, we would get some Maple leaf fudge.This was usually chocolate with nuts as it was my mom’s favourite and we’d take that home to share. Last but not least we visit the barns and see all the animals that reminded us of the farm we once had. We see the chickens, the cows, the pigs and the horses.

      Then as the time for the grandstand show neared we’d take our seats and see some of the best music acts or circuses that came to the Western fair. As the Grandstand act ended we head home, happy and ready for tomorrow's parking after school. Those were fun days.A little work and a lot of fun.

      Today parking is free (they built more parking) and the grandstands cost money; how things change. Western Fair, oh such memories. What are your memories of fairs when you were young?

P.S.  City council has issued and edict that anyone parking on a front lawn will receive a $55 dollar ticket this year.Not sure if they mean just the car driver or both the car driver and the homeowner. Apparently there is never enough parking?


©Sheilagh Lee September 5, 2012
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