Fair Stories
September 19, 2016
Heading home from a day of shooting The Round Barns of Vernon County, I pulled off the highway near Wildcat Mountain State Park for Hillsboro's late summer rodeo. I hoped for a fresh corndog, or perhaps, maybe, some lightly battered deep fried cheese curds. I might run into an old high school pal. I chatted with a couple of high schoolers for just a moment. They reminded me of my high school friends and how the last part of summer has a particular kind of nostalgic melancholy.
In The Fair Film, we meet a middle school teenager; a worker with the traveling carnival, and a young man hoping to win a blue ribbon with his prize animal. We visit with community members to recall the memories and meanings of the Vernon County Fair.
The Fair Film paints, at the same time, a nostalgic yet quickly changing contemporary portrait of small town life, its celebrations, seasons, and people.