Stan Geiger

Notes on the Tulsa State Fair

I will be interested to see how the fair numbers come out this year. I don't expect them to be good. Excerpts from Michael Bates' post discussing his family's fair outing offer some examples as to why.

At 7:30 we went to see the Disney on Ice version of High School Musical. I was thankful that we had free passes. Not only were the tickets expensive, but everything else was too -- $12 for a bag of cotton candy, which came with an official High School Musical plastic trilby. We passed on all the food and souvenirs. The kids enjoyed the show. The music and plot made it easy to overlook the skating skill that was on display. Only half of the Pavilion was open for seating, and only half of those seats were filled.

What is supposed to be a big draw couldn't fill half of half of the seats in the Pavilion---on a Saturday night no less.

Do you think the prices Bates noted might have something to do with the poor turnout?

I do. Fair promoters, however, seem to be a bit thick on the issue. Coming into this year, in fact, they seemed to be in a state of complete denial. I saw one news report in which a spokesperson said the bad economy would actually help the fair numbers.

Gasoline, groceries and electricity are costing people more than ever. But no worries, fair promoters say. We'll make a trip to the fair cost more than ever, too, and thereby turn a negative into a positive. Fascinating logic.

I saw County Commissioner Smaligo on TV, touting all the great improvements at the fairgrounds. He said he figured all the newness would get people excited about going to the fair. Michael seems to disagree.

It was a bit melancholy to note the disappearance of more of the buildings that were part of my childhood visits to the fair. The IPE Building, the Armory, the Pavilion, and the Skyride are all that's left. Over the last year, the cafeteria and the Exchange/Youth Building were demolished. The cafeteria was the last remnant of when the International Petroleum Exposition was held in a campus of individual buildings where the IPE Building (QuikTrip Center) now stands. The Exchange Building was once home to the annual KTUL Talent Show and the location of the local segments of the Jerry Lewis Telethon. One year (1980?) the Republican 1st District Convention was held in that room. The Youth Building was home to the 4-H and FFA exhibits during the fair. Once upon a time, I believe the Youth Building also included dormitories that housed young future farmers who were at the fairgrounds to show their livestock.

I still miss the KELi satellite.

I miss the KELI building, too. It was unique. And it was always the gathering place when I was a kid. If you wanted to hook up with friends, you simply told them to meet you at the KELI building. Newness has its place, I suppose. But, many times, when you tear down the old, irreplaceable ambiance is lost.

Besides, people go to the fair looking to have fun not to gaze in awe at the new stuff their tax dollars bought.

Michael had this to say about midway rides:

You will note that I said nothing about rides. We did not ride any. We aren't going to ride any Murphy Bros. rides ever again. That decision is in protest at Bell's Amusement Park's eviction and Murphy-owned Big Splash's apparent lack of concern over safety (failure to make required repairs before opening the park for the season) and apparent lack of concern over paying their bills on time (lease checks went uncashed by Expo Square management for years). My kids are sad not to ride rides, but they are in agreement that we don't want to give any money to Murphy Bros.

How many others, I wonder, are avoiding the rides---either for one or more of Michael's reasons or because they just can't afford them?

What's that phrase that keeps popping up in politics these days? It's something about not getting it.

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