Got worries? Fair enough

| August 25, 2010 9:00 PM

The North Idaho Fair and Rodeo opens today with the usual air of anticipation - and the?unusual addition of consternation.

Several changes have disappointed traditional fairgoers. Beer consumption will be allowed throughout the fairgrounds this year, snapping the imaginary restraint around the beer garden. Event fans seeking a protected grandstand seat will have to pay $5 per event for the privilege. Also, rules changes of various sorts have left some longtime participants clearly out of sorts.

The bottom line in most if not all of this year's changes is, in fact, the bottom line. We neither defend nor attack the North Idaho Fair Board. We merely acknowledge that they have chosen the paths to generating badly needed revenue that they felt were not just most effective but, if you'll pardon the expression, also the most fair.

We do have three recommendations, however.

One is to let the Fair Board know how you feel. Express yourself as others have through letters to the editor of this newspaper and/or by writing to Fair Board itself. The address is listed below.

Two is to consider doing more than expressing your opinion. The 11-person Fair Board has an opening for an alternate member. These are volunteer positions approved by the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners. If you'd like to help at the most foundational level, send a letter of interest to North Idaho Fair & Rodeo, P.O. Box 2437, Coeur d'Alene, 83816 or deliver it to the fair office at 4056 N. Government Way.

Our final recommendation? For those who choose to go, enjoy yourselves and know that your support will continue an 85-year-old tradition that many of us relish every year. Money's tight for everybody, but we don't see any other opportunity that encompasses education and entertainment quite like this rite of late summer.

We know the Fair Board will review all the correspondence about changes, as well as analyze attendance and income. Your feedback and participation will help them determine what should - or shouldn't - be included in the 2011 edition.