The Fun Day That Was Not Fun
By gemini_rose
@gemini_rose (16264)
July 19, 2008 5:48pm CST
In the town where I live some lottery money was awarded to go towards a new play area for the children up the road from where I live. There is a big field attached to it and because they would have some money left from it they decided to throw it back into the town and put on a fun weekend. It has been being planned literally all year, and there has been a countdown in the local paper every week about it.
I followed its progress and read the itinerary of what was going to be there and it looked really exciting, it said there was to be an army display and a fire engine display, lots of stalls and rides for the children and face painting and lots of different food stalls and everything. I thought it would be a great day out and that the kids would enjoy it and so I said we would go and I was really looking forward to it.
The weather was disappointing at first it was really cold and pouring down with rain, but the rain cleared up by dinner time and so even though it was cold we decided to go. We thought we could get there in time for the army display. It was free to get in so that was even better and we got there and my heart just sunk, there was nothing there. Yet again, my Town had let me down, it was abysmal. No army display, no fire engine display, one stall with second hand junk on it, a burger van, that had no burgers or anything just bacon baps!! And a dj playing tunes, which have to admit was the best part of it. There was a bouncy castle that had seen better days and an inflatable slide, and two tiny little kiddie rides one of which kept breaking down. I felt sorry for the kids they had been looking forward to it and hoping to buy something and there was nothing. I took a photo of it as we went in and you can see for yourself that it was terrible. The best part is it is on all weekend. No thanks they can keep it.
When you go somewhere that is disappointing do you always feel sad for the kids?
What is your town like at organising and throwing events?
What is the best event your town has ever done?
2 people like this
9 responses
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
22 Jul 08
Did it go badly because of the weather? Was everything scheduled for the whole time or was it some of the time. Fireworks I assume would be at night, but if there was bad weather they may not have been able to set it up.
My town does nothing other then raise our taxes. We have no pools, the few parks don't even have bathrooms.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Jul 08
I can imagine how disappointed your kids were. That is sad.
My town does quite a bit of stuff every year, and what's amazing is the events that are put on are really great... but my town is TINY!! Literally you can walk from one end of the town to the other in less than half an hour, that's how tiny it is. It's so small, our schools are combined with another nearby, slightly larger town.
The biggest event, the end of September they put on a Fall Festival. This event is so great, we used to go to it long before we lived here. Now we live right down the street from it. There are 2 tents the size of football fields filled with crafts. There is a building with food carts, and the food is awesome! There are a couple games, and quite a few rides for the kids like a small ferris wheel, merry go round, tilt o whirl, one of those swing rides... plus a few more. At night there are live bands, there are contests like a greased pole climb and tractor pull, and on the last day is a car show. Last year there were over 500 cars that showed up. Some are very old antique cars, some are newer "tricked out" cars.
They put it on for an entire weekend, and last year we literally spent the entire weekend there.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
20 Jul 08
I think it was worse when I saw my 7 year olds face and I could see the disappointment on it. It has come to the point that even they have had enough of the fact that there is nothing for them here in this town. We want to move and have discussed it many times and the kids have now said that they are quite happy too. The only problem we have is that the economy this year has taken a down turn as we all know and selling houses for a good price at present is nigh on impossible, plus where we want to move is far far away and so we need to have enough money to keep us going for at least 8 months to allow time to move, settle and find jobs.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
20 Jul 08
The cost of houses is at the lowest in history here in my area. Unfortunatly due to many forclosures, the loan agencies aren't as lenient as they once were, which is where we are finding our problems. We love our area and neighborhood, but not our house or living conditions. We do not own the house, and have no hopes of owning it anytime soon (unless my in laws die). We'd like our own place but have bad credit, and lack of finances at the moment.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
29 Jul 08
The place where I live is tiny. We have a cafe, a pub, a Post Office and a cop shop. The cafe has a tiny menu and is really expensive, the pub has absolutely no personality and nothing much ever happens there. It's mostly frequented by the town yobbos.
If they put on a do only a handful of people ever tun up. I've only been here a few years and nothing much has happened. It's really boring.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
29 Jul 08
LOL sounds a bit like the place I live, only my town sounds like it might be a lot bigger.
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
21 Jul 08
Hi gemini,
Wow! That is very disappointing..I wonder what happen? and why they have published it on the local paper yet seems that they are unprepared!
Anyway, I am sure a lot of people feel the same way as you guys..
Our town don't have much activities or festivals...Only during special occasions...Last time for Independence day celebrations, it was a great one, Since all rides were free...They got like 20 plus rides all over the venue and it's all free for the kids, water is free as well as watermelon! It was really great!
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
22 Jul 08
I just cannot wait to see the write up in this weeks local paper, and if they dare say it was a success and brilliant then I am going to write in and tell them what a load of rubbish it really was!
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
22 Jul 08
Aargh I would of been dissapointed too. The fairs and activities in our community are pretty good and usually packed with people and activities for all ages. I especially like the school fun fair days as they have lots of games for the kids to join in and play.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
24 Jul 08
Best part is the write up in the paper said that it was a huge success and that everyone loved it so much they are looking forward to next years! Well I guess they paid the folks they interviewed cos everyone I spoke to said it was pants and they certainly not be going back for more!!
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
23 Jul 08
That sounds like a big let down maybe all the other stall holders left or just didn't turn up because of the rain and the other things got cancelled too. Or maybe someone in the local council took the money, it's happened on the Island where I live our local authorities are so stupid. They employed a guy who had two previous occasions of money going missing in the seaside town he was in the council of, and he got a job down here and did the same thing promising he was going to build a new road but just wasting or stealing the money. They also employed a head teacher at the local college who had lied on his CV and had no teaching experience at all and the place nearly went bankrupt, he was there for more than 2 years I think.
We do have some good local events though, most of the bigger towns have a carnival and I overlook the main street of the town I live in so can watch it go right past my window.
@mummymo (23706)
•
21 Jul 08
OMG gemini that looks dire - no wonder you were so disappointed for the kids sweety! I have to say that usually when things are put on in my area they do live up to what they are supposed to be and we are lucky that way! My sisters back garden looks more like a fun day most of the time than that field does! Hugs xxx
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
22 Jul 08
It has not gone down well at all with the community, and the local paper is due out tomorrow and so I cannot wait to see what they say about it!
@ruby222 (4847)
•
20 Jul 08
Maybe because our children are all grown up we dont tend to look for things like that to go to anymore,but we used to go when they were small.We used to go to alot of village fetes in and around Wiltshire,..there was Boyton and Corton and lots of little villages that had brilliant summer fetes!they had tombolas and skittle alleys,barbecues and hog roasts,and we used to love them!!But im sure your family must have felt very let down by this,i know as well as anyone that kids so lok forward to aything like that.Maybe the weather had just put them all off?I know the little village fete near my Mums house was a late kick off because of the weaher,it was hammering down with rain,and at the eleventh hour the sun came out a little,but there was supposed to be a Hurricane plane doing a fly over,but I dont think that went ahead.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
20 Jul 08
My hubby while we were there decided to have a bacon butty, the girl that served him asked him if our town had ever done anything like this before! My hubby said that they had tried a few times to get things going and she said well by the looks of things they are not very good at it! I felt sorry for my oldest son, who is 7, he was really looking forward to it and the look on his face just said it all.
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
19 Jul 08
Hmmm. Did the announcements actually say that the army display and fire engine displays would be there the entire time? Perhaps they were only there for part of it?
I don't think I've ever been disappointed in a fair of any kind - large or small. Perhaps that's because I've had to organize a few in my lifetime and know how difficult it is, especially if people don't make a commitment (of deposit money) in advance. If they don't they can back out if they find a "better fair" with a history. People want to know how many people attended last year, and if there was no last year, they're more apt to say, "no thanks".
Perhaps it's because even at the smallest and worst fair, my son and his dad and I always found a way to have fun, even if we had to invent it ourselves.
Our township has an awesome fair every year. It started out as the fireman's fair, and has grown into something that people come from all over our county to attend. Each night, there will be 3 bands - of different types of music to please everyone. Our church mans the soda tent. The money goes back to the township, but by our volunteering, it means they don't to have hired employees or contract workers - except to collect the money each night.
The food booths will number about 10-15, if it's like every other year. There are some kiddie rides, and a climbing wall that everyone - young and old - stands in line to try.
Plus all the businesses in the area have booths introducing their products or services, and they have great giveaways (to get everyone's contact info).
On the last night, they do a great fireworks display. For three days, our township is magical.
Our township has an awesome fair every year. It started out as the fireman's fair, and has grown into something that people come from all over our county to attend. Each night, there will be 3 bands - of different types of music to please everyone. Our church mans the soda tent. The money goes back to the township, but by our volunteering, it means they don't to have hired employees or contract workers - except to collect the money each night.
The food booths will number about 10-15, if it's like every other year. There are some kiddie rides, and a climbing wall that everyone - young and old - stands in line to try.
Plus all the businesses in the area have booths introducing their products or services, and they have great giveaways (to get everyone's contact info).
On the last night, they do a great fireworks display. For three days, our township is magical. @gemini_rose (16264)
•
20 Jul 08
The displays were at set times, the army display was supposed to be on at 1pm so we were there at about 12.30pm and there was nothing and we stayed for a good hour or more just to make sure, we just stood in the middle of the field!
