402 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



THE COMMUNITY FAIR 1 



J. STERLING MORAN 



THE COMMUNITY FAIR is a miniature county fair conducted by 

 the people of a community to promote its social and economic 

 life. It arouses interest and pride in local achievement by afford- 

 ing an opportunity for the exhibition of the best products of the 

 community, fosters the spirit of cooperation by bringing the 

 people together in friendly rivalry, and affords an opportunity 

 for wholesome community recreation. 



These fairs are held quite generally throughout the country and 

 are known in different localities as community fairs, district fairs, 

 township fairs, school fairs, grange fairs, and farmers '-club fairs. 

 The fall festivals, harvest home festivals, and farm, home, and 

 school festivals, which are held in certain localities, are adapta- 

 tions of the same general idea. 



The community, township, or district fair makes its appeal di- 

 rectly to all members of the community, while the fair conducted 

 by the farmers' club appeals especially to the members of the 

 organization concerned. 



The school fair in its simplest form is an exhibition of the 

 work done and the products grown by the school children. From 

 the school fair, with its community-wide interest, it is an easy 

 step to include the products of the older girls and boys who are 

 not in school, and ultimately the products and work of all the 

 members of the community. 



Other types of community fairs vary from the "harvest home 

 thanksgiving festival" of New England, which was originally 

 dominated by the religious motive and had very few exhibits 

 aside from those brought for decorative purposes, to the "farm, 

 home, and school festivals" of the Middle West, where the main 

 feature is the exhibition of products and where recreation of all 

 kinds forms a prominent part. 



A single organization is seldom influential enough to enlist 

 all the elements in a community for the purpose of conducting a 



i Adapted from Farmers' Bulletin 870, United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



