Our fair

Summer in Oregon means fairs.  We have 36 counties and and 37 fairs.  The extra one is the Oregon State Fair which is not a county fair at all.  Still, you could go to different fair every week from May through September if you wanted to. 

But if you did that, chances are you would not see our fair.  That's because ours is not the 38th fair.  It doesn't even register on the list of fairs because it's not a county fair.  But it's a fair nonetheless.  

It's called the Western Oregon Exposition and it's been happening here in GroveAtopia for 77 years.  

I went today and it's basically the same as it was when I first went 4 years ago.  And I'll bet it's basically the same as it was 4 years prior to that and 4 years prior to that and even 44 years prior to that.   

It's got all the elements of the bigger county fairs.  There are competitions for the best vegetables, fruit, flowers, photographs, crafts, and animals.  There is music.  And a midway.  And rides.  Everything you need for a fair.

But there are some important differences between our fair and the others, besides just size.  Their fairs cost $5 or $8 or more just to get in the gate.  Then the rides cost, well face it you don't really know what they cost because the ticket system is so complex it's basically impossible to figure out how much you just spent to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl.  And the food.  You know it's just not right to pay $2.50 for a snow cone, but you do it anyway because it's the fair.  But that's their fair.

This year our fair had an admission price for the first time in several years.  It was a whopping $1.00 for adults, $0.50 for children, or free if you brought a can of food. 

Our midway is different too.  Instead of trying to get you to pay money that you will likely lose and tempting you with the possibility, however remote, of winning one of those oversized stuffed animals, our midway makes sure you win.  Every kid wins, every time.  There's no oversized stuffed animals, but there is a respectable variety of prizes donated by Bi-Mart.  And like I said, every kid wins something.

The games themselves are different too.  They are home made, but just as fun as the ones at the more expensive fairs.  

Who wouldn't like to have a go at the catapult made from rubber hospital tubing and a medical funnel that's normally used for who knows what, to try to splat the water balloon against the wall?  That's way more fun than trying to pitch dime after dime into the hopelessly shallow dish or the glass that's got a hopelessly small opening.  And you can bet our kids will get plenty of tries to make sure they do break that balloon.

Some people worry about the WOE Family Fair.  Do enough people go?  Who makes sure the entries are judged properly?  Who makes sure there are enough entries?   Can it compete with its bigger brethren?  

I say worry not.  There is no need to compete with the bigger guys.  They are a completely different animal.  They have more, but they cost more.  Ours has less, and costs less, but it has something they don't have, it has us.  

It's organized by your neighbor, your friend is playing music, your child's friend's mother is serving food at the Dorena Grange burger stand.  And look there's your mom's friend, who is older than your mom, dancing with her husband, right there in front of everyone, as if they are the only couple on the dance floor.  And they are.

So put your worries aside, and make sure you come to GroveAtopia's WOE Family Fair.  You'll know it's ours as soon as you walk through the gate.