Over the past several months there has been quite a lot of anxiety, speculation, negotiation, and fundraising in regard to the fate of the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls. The late summer news of a possible sale of the fairground property rattled the town, registering a 5.0 on the Richter scale. I’m not sure how close we came to actually losing the fairgrounds; I’m sure it was closer than most imagined. So I’m grateful that a group of community leaders, along with the local citizenry, rallied and made it possible for the State Fair to remain in Chippewa Falls. You see, the place is simply too important to lose to some run-of-the-mill development (or an up-scale development, for that matter). It’s an amazing place where childhood memories bloom every July. It’s where the seeds of memories lay dormant in the ground, and with just the right combination of summer heat, humidity, midway lights, and sounds, the past times of blue ribbons, first kisses, and first rides come to life again.
The last time I went to the State Fair, it was carload day. The admission to the fairgrounds was a flat rate no matter how many people were packed in the car. Other days, it is a per person admission fee. Once in, I found there is a lot to see, do, and eat. There were booths serving every imaginable deep fried food known to man, corn dogs, fresh squeezed lemonade, burgers, brats, and popcorn. There were animal exhibits, tractor exhibits, vendor exhibits, snake exhibits, and the like, though I suspect political correctness prevented any type of freak show on the premises.
Then there were the rides. From one end of the grounds to the other, the midway was filled with traveling carnival rides and funhouses, each decorated with thousands of colorful lights. For another modest price, I bought a wristband that entitled me to ride an unlimited number of times on most any ride I wanted or dared between 11:00am and 6:00pm. When I opted out of riding, I would just sit with the other “chickens” and wait for the rest of my crew to rejoin me in the area designated as the “coop.” As I watched the rides hurl, spin, and subject my family and friends to NASA like G-forces, I decided I was the normal one and my courage was not open for discussion, but their sanity was.
As I did some crowd watching at the fair, I realized, that the rides, foods, shows, games, music and lights are simply a backdrop for what really makes the fair memorable; it is the people! Not just people, but an incredible mix of all sorts of people. There were tall people, short people, skinny people, and not so skinny people. There were people of various colors, ages, and places of origin. There were single people, dating people, married people, divorced people, and widowed people. There were confident people, shy people, frail people, and thick people. There were students, dropouts, scholars, and blue and white collars. There were rich people, poor people, healthy people, sick people, loners, and people who needed people. (I didn’t see Barbara Streisand, though the guy who worked the Tilt-a-Whirl did look a lot like James Brolin.) There were clean-cut people, crinkle-cut people, potheads, eggheads, clergy, and tattooed people. And then to top it off, there were CARNIES!!!! Yes, I said carnies. They’re people too, you know.
Wow! What an amazing collection of people, personalities, and souls. My observations of all these different people at the fair reminded me of another amazing place - the church. You know, the Bride of Christ, the very Church that Jesus gave His life for. There is an equally amazing mix of people that our Father in heaven calls into the church. It is a mere hint of his creativity. Even better than that, Jesus paid the admission price for all who would accept His invitation to enter; and once inside, there’s no time limit. It is eternal. That’s just a glimpse of God’s extravagance and generosity!
When I think about the church, I am reminded that God alone invites people to enter. It is God alone, who covers the price of admission. He does, however, offer all of us the opportunity to join Him in welcoming anyone and everyone He has welcomed in.
So let’s welcome everyone He has welcomed - the CARNIES too!!!
Grace to you.
Dave Paukner
