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| The Economist used this Getty Images photo, which had no caption but may be from Bath and West, with its story about country fairs. |
"No one is sure exactly how many fairs there are, but at least 400 days of such rural events happen annually. A parliamentary briefing last year suggested that roughly one in 10 Britons attend them each year. It appears their popularity is rising. Events that sell out all their tickets, as happened at the Great Yorkshire Show last year, could become more common."
Why? "Nostalgia is evidently a big draw," the Economist ventures. At "England’s oldest and grandest" fair, Bath and West Show in the southwest county of Somerset, "Bunting flapped, the visitors formed orderly queues, bought cream teas and listened to a military band that played wartime hits. . . . As well as a fiercely competitive livestock parade, it features Morris dancing, sheepvshearing and a vintage fairground. Its pony-chariot races, meanwhile, are second-to-none. Many contestants on a recent afternoon had first given generous custom at the nearby cider tent. They performed vigorously before a large crowd."
But fairs have other raisons d'etre. "Many fairs were founded in the 18th or 19th century to spread knowledge of new farming technology among rural populations. Some of that mission continues. . . . The 600 trade stalls offered at least as much interest as any Morris dancing."
Most Britons are urbanites, so the fairs try to "educate urban visitors, who make up a decent share of those who turn up. Some consumers also come armed with formidable knowledge of food-supply chains—as well as sometimes complicated personal preferences for organic, local, animal-friendly, vegan, fair-trade and environmentally sound products. Laura Williams, of the Royal Welsh Show, notes that visitors these days are 'much more invested in farming and interested in where their food comes from' than in years gone past."
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