Alexander Leach, Editor
The Beachburg Fair begins tomorrow, July 22, and lasts the 23 and 24th.
Pictures are included on the next page, along with the editor’s message.
The Beachburg fair is on this week, and I couldn’t be happier.
I haven’t been to a fair in years. I used to go to the Cobden fair as a young child, with my dad and my brother, and my memories of that are fairly positive. Crowded, colourful, and full of many plushies I still have and, surprisingly enough, have held up in terms of quality over the decades.
The heat advisory earlier this week (included in this issue despite being past at the point of publication due to its relevance) is portent of potential disaster – heatwaves washing over the continent threaten the health of fair-goers, as much as the thunderstorms that follow often do. As I write this, at a totally-reasonable hour of the night, a storm blew loudly past my windows, flickering power as often as the sky with its lightning.
Being out in too-hot weather at a fair is not an unsolvable problem. The fair often has cold things available, and I doubt the Agricultural society.
But there’s also the threat of COVID-19 to worry about.
Despite our lack of lockdown regulations, COVID is still about – and I say this repeatedly so I won’t go into it beyond saying that I will be wearing a mask at the Beachburg fair, and will be sanitizing my hands to ensure I don’t get this disease. While I don’t necessarily fear a major outbreak at the convention, it does happen, despite vaccines, and even a muted or lessened effect can still cost one time and money, or even long-term issues.
My girlfriend was in Baltimore for the National Federation of the Blind in Louisiana a few weeks ago, a major convention having their first convention since the advent of coronavirus locked off our lives two years ago. She returned with a sore throat, a persistent cough, and exhaustion that cost her a week of work and nearly required her to take leave time. They had masks, and tests, and yet it still happened.
It concerns me to see another major outbreak. We are at the point where this resembles the flu – it’s rarely fatal and its considered a livable condition. But with a crowded outdoor venue and packed rides and hot weather, it’s quite possible that it could happen again.
I think this will be a regular concern, now. My attempts to get in touch with the Beachburg Agricultural Society was positive, and won’t shirk the safety of fairgoers.
But might be best to pack that mask with you. You never know, right?
