Fairgrounds become home for some
Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2007
BENTON COUNTY - The Benton County Fair is up and running at its new location at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 12 and Barron Road.
Livestock competitions are taking place.
Blue ribbons are being distributed.
And the carnival rides are up and running.
All the familiar scenes that make the fair what it is are in motion.
But long after the sun goes down and the fairgoers have returned home, there is a whole group of people actually living at the Benton County Fairgrounds. There are those who showed up to set up shop a full day before the fair opened and will not step off the fairgrounds until the morning after the final day of festivities.
Tucked away behind the fairgrounds is a small city of campers and RVs. Many of these shelters are home to those showing livestock at the fair this week. Others belong to the individuals who own and run the various food booths serving fairgoers their fill of corn dogs, gyros, fries, cotton candy and funnel cakes. Some of these vendors are local, but several of them drive across the country, doing fairs in multiple towns in multiple states.
"We're nomads," said Hari Paizis, whose Paizis Gyros food booth is set up at the heart of the Benton County Fair. "This is what we do. We're from Rochester, Minn., but we go to Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and all over the place. This is our first year in Bentonville, but we do Fort Smith and the fair in Little Rock every year. We're always on the road, so we live at whatever fairgrounds we're working."
Paizis' and the many RVs and campers around them form a community of vendors, dairymen and more for the week. There's everything from simple campers to giant RVs, complete with double slideouts, multiple bedrooms, remote-controlled awnings, full kitchens and satellite dishes. A few tents are pitched between RVs, and one site even has a hammock tied between a tree and a fence post. There are coolers everywhere, and a few sites that have even rolled out large Astroturf carpets over the grass.
For about 70 people, this is home - even after the heart of the fairgrounds becomes dark, empty and quiet at night.
"This is our first time here, but over the years we've met a lot of people on the road doing these fairs. We don't have a lot of time or energy at night because we're working 13- to 14-hour days at our booth, but we do kick back with the other vendors and have a beer or two at night. We gossip and tell stories. It's kind of a neat bonding time," Paizis said.
Denise Fowler and her family of Gravette don't have nearly as far a drive to Bentonville, but they do have a camper among the sea of around-theclock fair residents. Her two children, Sheyenne and Michael, are showing dairy cows at the fair and spend quite a bit of time in the livestock building. So living at this fair and others they show in is nothing out of the ordinary.
"We go to fairs and shows in Wisconsin and Arkansas, and we do the 4-H district shows," Fowler said. "This is our fourth show this year. The livestock group, no matter where you go, seems to be very close-knit. We turn it into a family vacation. It's fun getting to know the other people, especially after the judging and competitions, when we're all just hanging out."
Some people don't even bother to roll an RV, camper or tent into the fair. They simply find a soft spot in the hay next to their cattle, pigs, horses or whatever animals they're showing, and get some shuteye.
"These animals are very expensive, so you don't want anyone monkeying with them," said Terry Galyean, who's working with the nine cows Doug and Beau Herbaugh are showing at the fair this week. "We stay right here all night and keep an eye on them - at least when we're not sleeping."
By the time the fair comes to a close at the end of the weekend, Paizis and crew will have put in plenty of long days and nights serving up their signature gyros. But they'll immediately hit the road en route to the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair in Fort Smith, followed by a trip to the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock. There, they'll be doing it all again, only with new neighbors at every stop.
"It's hard work, but we do enjoy it," Paizis said. "I've been doing this for 20 years. I'm just glad Interstate 540 was built. We used to haul our big trailer and campers to Little Rock on the old Highway 71. Whew, that could get dangerous and nasty, depending on the weather. You have to remember, we're not just driving ourselves. We're pulling our homes and our businesses behind us."
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