Writer: Teddy Kuser | Editor: Yubeen Hyun
Growing up accustomed to the sounds of construction and the smell of exhaust, the countryside surrounding Los Angeles was an escape I looked forward to each summer and fall. Each year, without fail, I would attend the Los Angeles County Fair with my Dad and sister. It was a special moment for a young Teddy, who had only read of a romanticized farm life in picture books and novels like the classic “Charlotte’s Web.” But the county fair is more than an escape to many people in this vast agricultural powerhouse of a country; it’s a way of life and a means of survival.
County fairs, a tradition deeply rooted in American agricultural communities, have been a part of our cultural fabric for nearly two centuries. However, their history extends far beyond our nation’s borders. Fairs can be traced back to ancient times as commercial gatherings where merchants, artisans, and craftsmen would gather to trade goods. The word’s etymology — derived from the Latin word “feria” (festival or holy day)— indicates that early fairs often doubled as religious celebrations. This was certainly the case in medieval times when fairs were held to celebrate various Church holidays and feasts. They provided commoners, who labored from dawn to dusk, a much-needed break and in most cases, the opportunity to collectively pray for a bountiful harvest. Like modern fairs, those of the Middle Ages featured music, dance, and magical displays. And, of course, the beloved livestock and produce size competitions that remain the highlight of county fairs across the United States.
In 1841, the county fair made its American debut in Syracuse, New York. Its significant economic impact paved the way for its rapid popularization across the U.S. In counties throughout the fledgling nation, a ‘wide-eyed wonder’ emerged each harvest season, ‘like a city that is reborn anew year after year’ (Nelson). Today, California ranks third among states with the highest annual attendance to state and county fairs. These magnificent celebrations, which honor the ordinary folk who form the backbone of the American economy in the state with the largest agricultural output in the nation, are essential to local economies and many diverse fields, from floral arts to cheesemaking.
The macro impact of the state and county fair is comparatively negligible in the grand scheme of California’s economy. However, the value of these spectacles lies in their ability to support and stabilize local economies. State and county fairs help preserve a rural lifestyle integral to millions of Americans’ culture and livelihoods.
Photo by 395 Guide
To emphasize just how significant of an impact these fairs can have on rural communities, I’d like to take a journey to a small town in Eastern California, just south of White Mountain Peak, off the 395 interstate highway. The town of Bishop (Figure 1), or city as it is somewhat questionably categorized, is home to some 4,000 inhabitants. The surrounding area has a population of little more than 10,000, with most residents employed in various aspects of the agricultural industry. With its several local diners, a healthy selection of fast food restaurants, and a five-star motel, the “Hostel California,” this town is the ideal rest stop for travelers nearing the end of a grueling cross-country road trip or for those journeying to any of the five nearby national parks. But, I can assure you that the “rest-stop economy” of Bishop, California, alone doesn’t fully meet the needs of this community — so, how do they make ends meet? You guessed it: a massively popular annual tri-county fair. Thel Eastern-Sierra Tri-County Fair (Figure 2) draws excited families from Inyo, Alpine, and Mono Counties to celebrate their passions, whether that be equestrian sports, livestock competitions, or country music. Beyond a plain old good time, what the fair offers this small, rural town can be found in the numbers. Over $3 million in labor income and about $10 million in spending activity is generated annually. Additionally, roughly 120 jobs are held year-round to plan and facilitate the tri-county fair.
Photo by Tri-County-Fair
Bishop, of course, isn’t the only rural town in California that reaps the economic benefits of a county fair. In San Joaquin, the county fair brings in around $20 million in revenue—twice as much as Bishop’s fair—while the Paso Robles county fair blows both out of the water, generating approximately $80 million annually. Naturally, the spending frenzy surrounding these fairs is not limited to the fairgrounds. Traveling visitors often spend as much at surrounding restaurants and hotels and on transportation services. Fairs generally increase money circulation to the benefit of the surrounding community.
Economists often analyze what they call a “multiplier” in economies, the cumulative economic impact of an increase in the money supply through investment, revenue, etc. For example, if an economy had a multiplier of 2, a 100-dollar investment would reap 200 dollars in economic impact. The value of the “multiplier” depends on the economy’s marginal propensity to consume (MPC) which quantifies how likely an individual is to spend their earned income. For instance, if the MPC of an individual is 0.5, that means they spend half of their earned income and save the other half. The multiplier is calculated as 1/(1-MPC), so, in this case, it would be 2. As I mentioned, the multiplier measures the total gain caused by an input due to factors such as wages. Suppose a small county receives $10 million from its annual county fair. That revenue will “trickle down” through the economy as wages for people of other professions. Therefore, if the residents spend about half of their income, the downstream impact of the fair would be about $20 million.
In small towns like Bishop, a range of industries contribute to the extensive planning and resources needed for major events like the annual fair. The fair ignites certain sectors that would otherwise remain dormant or nonexistent in such a small town, including equipment rental companies, maintenance and cleaning services, and marketing and advertising agencies, which manage the logistics and operations of these large-scale projects. The reach of visitor demand doesn’t stop there. Food and beverage companies are responsible for feeding the thousands of hungry new arrivals. Furthermore, local hospitality and tourism sector businesses like inns, motels, hotels, and even transportation services are all in high demand during fair season. Clearly, direct revenue doesn’t encapsulate the total economic impact of fairs on small rural economies.
While they offer obvious monetary benefits, there are numerous concerns about the long-term financial stability of county fairs in California. In 2012, then-California Governor Jerry Brown was tasked with closing a more than $25 billion budgetary gap. The unfortunate reality is that the small folk often suffer most when the government faces budgetary constraints, especially in a state like California which is bound by its constitution to maintain a balanced budget. Before 2012, the California Department of Food and Agriculture allotted a $32 million annual budget to the Division of Fairs and Expositions to support the network of 78 county fairs throughout the state. The economic vitality of many fairs, especially those in small towns, depended on these government grants. In the 2012 budget, Governor Brown cut county fair funding from the usual $32 million to zero. “We make the tough decisions now and put our accounts in order… this is a tough budget for tough times.” For those who depended on the annual fair, even tougher times were ahead.
Another key limiting factor to steady government funding for the private non-profits that run California county fairs is a state law, which limits all contracts between the state government and private non-profits to no more than five years. This requires non-profits to renew their contracts regularly, a process that isn’t accessible or sustainable. The five-year contract restriction makes it impossible for fairgrounds to receive the funding needed for renovations and upgrades, which could have resulted in more financially self-sustaining fairs in the long run.
How can fairs restabilize their financials in the absence of essential state funding? Personally, I see no viable threat to the largest, most commercialized fairs funded by massive corporations, such as the LA County Fair. Unfortunately, it is the smaller, isolated rural communities whose very existence could be in jeopardy. Without the county fair, a rural lifestyle and culture held dear to so many Americans could cease to exist.
Photo Credit: My dad
Featured image by Emerald Lake
