Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
This time each year in our hometown
The county fair comes our way
Where the folks gather round to be happy and spend theirday
~ from "County Fair," by The Beach Boys
F airs are as old as civilization. In ancient Rome, special holidays - which allowed a break from work - were marked with gatherings they began calling Fairs. Fairs in the middle ages often included markets, where farmers would sell their goods and craftspeople would sell their wares. (The word fare is a variation that now often refers to food and drink.)
Wikipedia's entry on "fairs" describes some of the prob- lems that were often encountered when fairs were held in centuries past:
Because of the great numbers of people attracted by fairs they were often the scenes of riots and distur- bances, so the privilege of holding a fair was granted by royal charter. At first they were allowed only in towns and places of strength, or where there was a bishop, sheriff or governor who could keep order. In time various benefits became attached to certain fairs, such as granting people the protection of a holiday and allowing them freedom from arrest in certain cir- cumstances. The officials were authorized to mete out justice to those who came to their fair; eventually even the smallest fair would have had a court to adjudicate on offences and disputes arising within the fairground, called a pye powder court.
In the U.S., county and state fairs are primarily agricul- tural exhibits held after the end of harvest, where farm fami- lies show of their livestock and crops, and other examples of their craftsmanship. For the most part, thankfully, riots and disturbances are a thing of the past.
This weekend, Walla Walla holds its annual Walla Walla County Fair and Frontier Days at the fairgrounds in Walla Walla. The Walla Walla County Fair dates back to 1863, when horse races took place on a newly constructed track. The first agricultural fair took place in 1866. Its organizers bill the Walla Walla County Fair as the oldest fair in the state.
Besides the usual agricultural exhibits, the Walla Walla Fair features its annual three-day rodeo, a country music concert and the Frontier Days Parade in downtown Walla Walla. A list of fair events and times is shown on Page 11 of this issue of The Times.
A week later, the Columbia County Fair rolls into Day- ton. This year's theme is "Sew It, Grow It, & Show It at the Fair." Events include a Friday night motocross, followed by a street dance; a jackpot rodeo on Saturday night; and a Sunday afternoon demolition derby. The Times will include a full schedule of events in next week's issue.
Fairs are fun, but only because of the hard work of all the volunteers who put in countless hours doing everything from booking musical acts to cleaning up animal stalls. We salute those volunteers and we hope all of our readers will get a chance to visit one, if not both, of our local county fairs. We know that no pye powder court will be necessary.
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