Dog-tired yet renewed, I am. Fair week is over. Finally and already. The week of the Sandwich Fair seems like it will never end yet flies by. The end is bittersweet. Brilliantly timed, this event has been held the Wednesday-Sunday after Labor Day since 1888. Most people say goodbye to summer on Labor Day. Sandwich stays on a roll for another week, wrapping the summer up with a big, sweaty, dusty bow. We collectively collapse on Sunday night, grinning and exhausted. THAT was a fun summer.

I never really understood the anticipation and excitement of the Fair. I am not sure that an outsider really can. When Steven and I spent our first fall here, we were perplexed by everyone saying, “It’s Fair week, you know.” As if that explained why we couldn’t get anything done. Everything stops. Offices are closed. Phone calls aren’t returned. It’s Fair week, you know. No. We didn’t know.

Seventeen years later, I think I understand. My acupuncture practice is appointment-based. People get excited and distracted by the Fair. They overcommit and run out of time. Who wants to take the fun out of the week by asking them to make and keep appointments? “It’s Fair Week, you know.” I want them to have fun. I want them to experience the Fair that they remember, many from their childhood. Be free! There is also great potential to connect with the community by being AT the Fair in one of the many commercial buildings. I have enjoyed that opportunity for close to a decade. Splitting my time between my office, the booth, and community events like a bench dedication for a friend lost since the last Fair leaves one with little time to sleep. And we can’t forget the music! Make that VERY little time to sleep.

In 2019 my practice was busy, so I skipped working the booth. Afterward, I felt disconnected from my community and swore I would never miss another Fair. Covid showed us that we shouldn’t take the Fair (or anything) for granted when it was canceled for the first time in history. Two years without participating in the Fair gave me a new perspective.

Additionally, Friday night, my Claire wanted to hang out. She grew up here and made the trip home. Being together was the highlight of the week for me. We had so much fun wandering around the noisy midway, reminiscing, over-tipping, wondering if we won the steer raffle where we could set him free, looking our traditional Fair food and, our favorite, visiting the goats.

The point is, it took seventeen years, but I understand. My heart is full. Exit summer, enter fall. It’s time.