When the Ocean County Fair comes around, I feel compelled to watch the movie "Groundhog Day". It's the same thing over and over again, year after year. They don't even bother to change the layout; I suppose if something has worked passably well in the past, there's no need in the minds of the organizers to shake it up. But there is. The punchline here is that this is actually a review of the 2013 fair, posted a year in advance.
The fair is pretty lame, and a bit sad. I go mainly to see the 4-H displays of livestock, fancy chickens and rabbits, and then I'm more or less done. Held in a dusty field during what can be some of the hottest days of summer, it would be unpleasant even if there were more to do or see, but there is very little else. There's the same wildlife show by Bwana Jim, the same poor little piglets being forced to race around a short track until moving on to a new life as someone's breakfast, a few carnival rides that look like they'd have been considered unsafe before seatbelts were invented, and a few games nobody seems to play because everyone knows you don't play carnival games. There are some smelly dogs crossbred with wolves that you have to pay to pet. Then there are the tents in the middle where everyone from a guy selling Andersen windows to the John Birch Society wants to sign you up for something. All this for the bargain price of $6.
Someone needs to give this fair a makeover. There should be fireworks, more local business involvement, more craft tables for children... just more. It should be moved to late September to afford better weather, a pumpkin growing competition, and darkness during operating hours, which increases the allure of flashing lights on crappy rides. The possibilities for growth and improvement are nearly limitless, because there is really nowhere for the Ocean County Fair to go but up. read more
