It’s like stepping back in
time. Back to a simpler way of life,
before computers, before smart phones, before ipads and ipods and even before
television. It is stepping back into
the real world with cows and horses, chickens and rabbits, tomatoes and
pumpkins, pies and cakes, quilts and cross stitch, woodworking and
painting. It’s blue ribbons, drawing for
bicycles, and listening to local bands.
It’s fireworks and the dazzling lights of the midway. It’s Polish sausage with peppers and onions,
country ham, candied apples, ice cream, and cotton candy. It’s the 72nd annual edition of
the Davidson County Agricultural Fair and it starts on
September 18.
I love the
fair. Beyond the sights and sounds,
beyond the enticing aromas and exciting events such as Senior Citizen Thursday,
the Davidson County Beauty Pageant, the livestock shows, and the Diaper Derby,
it is just the experience of returning to a simpler way of life where you greet
your neighbors face to face rather than on Facebook. It’s all about having some good,
old-fashioned fun and indulging in a tempting slice of authentic
Americana.
There is another
reason, a deeper reason that I love the fair.
It’s about helping other people.
The Lexington Kiwanis Club sponsors the fair to provide the revenue to
help children in Davidson County.
Each summer
approximately 180 deserving children who have been selected by the Department
of Social Services experience a week of summer camp that costs their family
nothing. All of these children will have
a great week of activity and fun, but the camp means even more to some. Kamp Kiwanis is a safe haven, a reprieve from
the hard life that many of these children live each day. These children are fed, loved, encouraged and
protected at camp. For many it is the
highlight of their year.
Kamp Kiwanis
started almost 90 years ago, back in 1928.
From the beginning it was an expensive endeavor. In 1945 the club was granted permission to
sponsor the annual agricultural fair to generate the funds needed to run the
camp. Seventy-two years later we are
still sponsoring the fair to provide the needed revenue for Kamp Kiwanis.
When the members
of the Kiwanis Club visit the camp in the summer, the children are eager to
thank us and tell us what they love the most.
I will never forget one little boy with the biggest smile whose face was
smeared with icing asking me, “Are you a Kiwanzian?” I thought about it for just a moment before
quickly responding, “Yes. Yes I am a
Kiwanzian!” The little fellow looked at
me with the most sincere expression and said, “I sure do thank you for all this
good stuff.”
One little girl
told me she loved Kamp Kiwanis more than Christmas, because “I don’t get
anything at Christmas.” Another girl
said “they give a lot of hugs,” (hugs she did not get at home) and another
said, “I think about it all the time. When is this day going to come?”
But the most
poignant reminders of the importance of our camp are the children who come to
camp hungry. One little boy ate three
plates of food the first night at camp as he shared he had not eaten in two
days. This is why you will see the
dedicated members of the Kiwanis Club parking cars and selling gate tickets at
the fair. This is why we love the fair.
When you visit
the Davidson County Fair, step into the fair office and see a picture that was
drawn by a little girl.
It is a simple drawing of a dinner plate. She wrote, “The thing I like the best about
Kamp Kiwanis is that I get three meals a day.”
Kamp Kiwanis provides food, shelter, love and encouragement to children
who need it the most—It’s like stepping back in time.
The Davidson
County Fair is September 18 – 23 and I will be working the gate or I will be on the
PA. I hope to see you at the Fair!
