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The Utah State Fair is a tradition worth preserving!
Foremost, it celebrates the state’s agrarian roots. But, it also has the potential to become a significant exposition of progress as the age of high technology continues to unfold.
There is value in both.
Yet, as this year’s annual event gets underway the future of the State Fair is cloudy. When lawmakers decided to privatize the fair in 1995, they committed to help move the fair toward self-sufficiency with modest annual appropriations. It hasn’t been enough. A lack of adequate state funding coupled with two years of low attendance – one due to 9/11 and the other to last year’s inclement weather – has left the Fair in dire financial condition.
A couple of things would help.
First, better attendance! With that in mind, KSL encourages Utahns to visit the fair. Enjoy a nostalgic journey to the Fair Park. Visit the animal barns. Eat some cotton candy. Admire a well-preserved jar of home-bottled peaches. And take a youngster along to pass on the tradition.
Secondly, KSL urges Utah lawmakers to recommit to subsidizing the event a while longer until it can become totally self-sustaining.
Go back in history. Fairs have always played a significant cultural role. It would be unfortunate to think we’ve become so sophisticated that such worthwhile expositions are no longer relevant.
