I visited the county fair this week and I’m not entirely happy

It is typical Los Angeles to schedule the fair to be more convenient and to make more money.

It’s time for a history post!

I grew up loving the state fair, looking forward to it all year and squeezing all the joy I could out of it. I was a 4H kid.

Let me explain:
I was raised in Alaska next door to the fair. Alaska gives a lot of attention to their fair—everyone goes to the fair. Every year since forever more than half the population goes.

There are pies and jams and quilts. And the big pumpkin, big enough for Cinderella to fit inside. So amazing! The half-grown pigs who raced for oreos—place your bets!

Festivals, markets and fairs have been around as long as people, almost. The idea of an agricultural exhibition took off with the industrial revolution. Americans had the same impulse as their European neighbors. The famous Crystal Palace of Victorian England was part of this trend, and the World fairs that came after it.

People want to get together and show what they can do and help each other figure out what is possible. The farmers can show their prize animals, get bragging rights and share some secrets for how to get these results.

It didn’t stop there. That Crystal palace I mentioned was constructed in 1851, and was the biggest glass structure created at that time. Glass wasn’t new. The breakthrough was standardization. They made same-same screws, and the cast iron bars for the frame to take the standard size panes of glass. It was put together in 9 months. It was magical and 6 million people passed through it to see new industrial marvels.

Other countries were so jealous of Queen Victoria’s accomplishments that a ripple of world fairs followed.

Paris responded with the Eiffel tower in 1889 as a showpiece for their world fair.

Only four years later in 1893 the Chicago world’s fair had the staggering Ferris wheel. This wheel could take 2000 people up and around all at one time, each car holding 60 people at once.

World fairs are still happening. Japan had one last year. But I feel like that time before the world wars was the golden age.

I look forward to going to the county fair as I get older and even downright elderly. I want to be shocked by the latest food thy fry and put on a stick. And to hear what music is being sung. I want to see all the farm animals and be amazed anew with some fact I forgot or never knew.

I want to feed the baby goats and feel their warm breath on my palm. All of us are animals together. I’m eager to be full of wonder every time.