Bright Ideas Beaches, Fairs And Small-Town Festivals Among Best Places To Spend Summer
As schoolchildren, we’re trained to associate summer with fun. We can pare down to just shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops, head for the beach or the backyard, light the barbecue, eat too much and not care, sit in a lawn chair and watch twilight fade to starlight.
Life’s just simpler in the summer, more gentle, more nostalgic. We never seem to outgrow the childhood penchant for fun in the sun. The beach calls like a siren on August afternoons and sometimes we sneak away from work early to catch the late-afternoon rays. Entire Sunday afternoons are carved out to read a novel, with lemonade in hand and legs draped over the arms of an old, wooden deck chair.
And summer Saturdays, thousands of us head for small towns, for this is the peak fair and festival season in the hinterlands. They’re big business for small towns because they draw big crowds ready to eat, browse, shop and sometimes even stay over for the whole weekend.
Nostalgia draws us to the small towns - whether it’s a yearning for what we think were simpler times, a few moments to slow down and enjoy smaller activities or just a change of pace from urban frenzy.
Some towns stage festivals so planned and elaborate the community and the event become almost a theme park for the weekend. Entire food courts are set up in the city park, homeowners spiff up their yards, and activities are staged from first light on Saturday morning until sunset Sunday evening.
Other fairs retain the less-planned feel of the days when farm folk took a Saturday away from chores, dressed up and headed for town, taking their tractor or combine with them to drive in the parade. Potluck supper, music and dancing often ensued, and the event became a tradition.
Those wanting that experience can still find it in some towns.
While much summer activity happens spontaneously, sometimes a little planning boosts the fun factor.
We’ve put together a package of ideas for your summer leisure time. They range from suggestions for reading that begs to be done in the summer to a survey of beaches where you can unfold your sand chair once spring’s high waters have receded, to a day-by-day listing of area fairs and festivals.
Because the planning of the festivals was often done months ago, and plans change, be sure to call ahead before you leave for the event.
And be flexible once you get there if activities don’t seem to be coming off right when they were scheduled; remember, that’s consistent with the spirit of these old-time country affairs. For details about specific fairs and festivals, check the Weekend entertainment section each Friday.
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of the summer season and it stretches out before us clear to Labor Day in September. So, put the hamburgers on grill, uncover the deck furniture, sit back and relax and let the fun begin.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Knight-Ridder illustration
MEMO: For more summer fun, see fairs, festivals and books, page D7.