Keep the county fair fun and family-friendly

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

By Richard Anderson

Roaring engines and squealing pigs. Neon flashing against a darkening sky. Blue ribbon pies and champion beeves. It’s time again for the Teton County Fair, when Jackson Hole more or less reverts to its old, small-town self and its glitz and bling are mostly covered up with a fine layer of dust, dung and good clean fun.

Sure, the prize-winning hog will be purchased for a price that would make 4-H’ers around the rest of the state shake their head. Yes, the traditional displays of Western-style horsemanship now have to share the Rodeo Arena with English riders. And, yeah, the pot for the Demo Derby can exceed $4,000, enough to pull competitors from out of town. But, still, while Jackson Hole is beginning to look more and more like one big country club, the county fair remains a bastion of our rural heritage, with valley kids being the main beneficiary.

That doesn’t mean we can’t screw it up. Indeed, it seems like some are hell-bent on doing so, with drunkenness and behavior that seems intended to rile the community.
I’m referring, of course, to the “tradition” of streaking at the Demo Derby. Say what you want about nudity – it’s harmless fun, it’s free expression, it’s a political statement, or conversely, that it constitutes child endangerment, that it upstages the real event – by now we all know the Fair Board will not tolerate it, the police will not tolerate, and the courts will not tolerate it.

Maybe there was a time when it was cute and funny. Maybe there was a time when we could laugh and shake off some crazy behavior of a few crazy kids. But it should be clear by now that the humor has more than worn out. The community has said enough, no means no, so knock it off already.

It’s not that unreasonable of a request. The derby will still go on. Folks can even get wrecked before going into the arena, if that’s what floats their boat, though intoxication appears to be something derby streakers have had in common, and, police have observed, also has been a factor in other derby incidents.

If this year’s event degenerates into mayhem, as the past two have, the Town of Jackson has warned that it may not grant the necessary special event permit in 2008. While it may take more than that to completely ruin the Teton County Fair, it could be the first cut in a long series of stabs that could seriously disfigure this vestige of the real Jackson Hole.
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Keep the county fair fun and family-friendly | Planet JH News Article: Editorial

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