State Fair

As a child I accompanied my father who worked for the extension service (the 4-H) each Summer to serve as a ring steward at the Ohio State Fair. It was an awesome event for a young boy, and I received the added privilege of seeing all the inner workings required to hold such an enormous event.

Recently I was reading an article by Rick Lyman about the current condition of this type of entertainment:

"It's happening right now, out in some field somewhere in America. Impervious to competition from television, the Web and the shopping mall, state fairs still rumble to life -- from Dallas to the Twin Cities, Phoenix to Tampa, Indianapolis to Syracuse.

Despite urbanization, suburban sprawl, the collapse of family farms and the rise of corporate agriculture, every year, regular as the seasons, the midways light up, the Tilt-A-Whirls clang to life and the judges study the ample rumps of the local livestock."

How does the State Fair continue to thrill audiences year after year? With only minor adjustments, such as a new fried entity (butter, oreos and snickers to name a few) they continue to pack the park year after year. What is their secret?

Perhaps part of the answer lies in the consistency they deliver year after year. Many fortune 500 companies would struggle to deliver the same consistent quality. Perhaps part of it is the power of memory and nostalgia. But I think one of the biggest reasons is that they always leave us wanting more. You must go during the short stint that the tents and rides appear, or you will miss it. And just about the time you think you might have had enough, they pack everything up, and make you wait another YEAR for it to come again.

How can we leave our audiences wanting more?