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My heart has been a little heavy since Thursday night, but at the same time, it's also incredibly full.
I've been thinking about this nonstop since my sister, my niece, my mom and I visited the Otsego County Fair in Gaylord for the Ashley Cooke concert.
I love county fairs. I really, really do. The Alpena County Fair is the one week of the entire year that I look forward to the most. My favorite part has always been seeing the animals and watching the youth show their projects. I know firsthand how much work, time, dedication and love goes into those projects because I've been there. Honestly, even if the fair had no other events, I would still show up just to walk through the barns and watch the livestock shows.
But last night got me thinking about something bigger.
As a board member of the Alpena County Fair, and even before that simply as a member of our community, I have heard people ask for more. A better carnival. More rides. More events. More free activities. And one request I hear over and over again: a real country concert.
Last night, Otsego County Fair did exactly that.
They brought in Ashley Cooke, an artist who is regularly played on SiriusXM and whose songs I recognized immediately. People around us were singing along and knew the words. It was a legitimate country concert right here in Northern Michigan, something people constantly say they want more of.
And honestly, I expected it to be packed.
That's the part that made my heart a little heavy.
Because the concert was GOOD. It was organized, it was well done, and it was obvious that an incredible amount of time, planning, work and money went into making it happen. I can only imagine what it took behind the scenes to put something like that together.
But the support just wasn’t what I expected it to be.
And that got me thinking…
If we want better, we have to support what we have.
Fair boards, event organizers, volunteers, sponsors and community members can’t magically create bigger and better events without people showing up. Bringing in bigger entertainment is a risk. It takes money. It takes planning. It takes people willing to say, "We’re going to try this and hope our community supports it."
If we want the next fair to bring in a bigger country artist, we have to show that there is an audience for it.
If we want more events, we have to attend the events we already have.
If we want better carnivals, we have to support the carnival that comes.
If we want more free activities, we have to bring our kids and participate.
If we want our fairs to continue growing, we have to grow with them.
So this isn’t meant to criticize Otsego County Fair at all. It’s actually quite the opposite.
To the Otsego Fair Board: Thank you. My sister, my niece (who got to experience her FIRST country concert!), my mom and I had a wonderful night. We enjoyed some treats from the concession stands, moseyed through the midway, listened to some great country music and had a really fun evening.
But more than that, I saw your work.
I saw the effort that went into filling your midway. I saw the planning behind the concert. I saw the volunteers and the people working to create something for their community.
And as someone who spends a huge part of my year doing the same thing, I know how much work people don’t see.
So I guess this is my little fair-personality soapbox for the day.
We are incredibly lucky to have county fairs in Northern Michigan. We are lucky to have people willing to volunteer their time, businesses willing to sponsor, families willing to bring their kids, exhibitors willing to spend countless hours on their projects, and fair boards willing to take risks to try something new.
But if we want more, better and bigger, we have to show up for what we already have.
Support your local fairs. Buy the ticket. Walk through the barns. Eat the fair food. Watch the show. Bring your kids. Thank a volunteer. Support a sponsor. Cheer for the exhibitors.
Because the future of our fairs depends on all of us.
And I, for one, hope we keep dreaming bigger.
These views are my own and do not represent those of the Alpena County Fair Board/Society.