NESHOBA COUNTY – It’s only when the sweat drips down your back and the red dirt blows across your face that you know you’re at the Neshoba County Fair. Whether it’s the horse racing, Oreo frying, merry-go-rounding, politician speaking, sleepin’ 25 people to a three person cabin. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, there is nothing quite like what I experienced this week.
I’ll admit, I’m an outsider. I was born here in Mississippi, but I didn’t grow up here. However, when I came back about a year ago, I came knowing two things: Mississippians are great people, and they treat partying as an art form.
Along the way I’ve picked up other things. Like the fact that people here REALLY care about state politics. In other places, I promise you, it’s not as big of a deal. I also found out, rather quickly, that exercise in general wasn’t a big deal around here and that’s definitely a movement or non-movement I could get behind.
But none of that matters, because what I saw Tuesday was a combination of everything I love about Mississippi.
You have a fair, which by itself is a good time. Honestly, who doesn’t like a good fair? But you, you-you beautiful Mississippians, have taken something great and turned it into a magical unicorn with the ancient Greek powers of Zeus. You’ve taken the hot dog and created the Cheese Coney, You’ve taken the potato and created potato skins. You’ve taken a piece of land, added a horse track, added hundreds of cabins, then added fried food and said, “let’s party!”
You’ve somehow managed to combine everything that is great about Mississippi into one place. You’ve taken the kindness and generosity of the people and allowed them to open their cabins to others. You’ve made state politics interesting, because I can now eat a funnel cake, fried snickers and chicken on a stick while listening to politicians worry about the poultry production.
Ain’t nobody listening to Hillary Clinton, while passing around a bottle of moonshine. Ain’t nobody eatin’ a fried Twinkie, relaxing in their cabin, watching harness racing, while maybe picking their guitar and singing the blues, and contemplating what the republican presidential candidate’s son might say. I’m pretty sure that’s rare, and by-God is it great!
The Neshoba County Fair is a state treasure. I mean it! It’s something I image not many people from other parts of the world know about.
Is it perfect? For me, absolutely. For the politically correct crowd? Ehhhhh…Probably not. The social justice warriors of the world would probably turn their noses up at it, but I say let’em. Let’em miss out on a great time.
The red dirt that rests upon the fairs ground is as legendary as the heat the bears down upon it. And the good time that one can experience is as glorious and as hard to explain as the fair itself.
