The Pauls take on The Great Frederick Fair

Paul O:
As the Great Frederick Fair opened its gates on September 15, many people of different ethnicities flooded its attractions and food vendors after the fair had to close due to the 2020-2021 Pandemic. Along with that there was also the incident with John Marvin Weed Jr, who sadly passed away after being assaulted by two teens. We went around to ask people about how they felt about this year’s fair. I first asked 12th grader Nico Truini about their overall experience to which they replied with, “it was a positive overall experience, I had fun.” I then asked if there was anything they felt could have been better about the fair. To this, they said, “I wish the games didn’t cost so much money, wish there were more activity for the flat broke people,” and then adding on that “last year I left with a lot more money, overall the majority was the same, there weren’t any lawn mowing roomba.” Moving on from the painful lack of roomba, I ended our interview asking if they had any advice for people who had gone yet. “Don’t play the games,” they said. Overall it seems that the fair can be quite expensive, but we wanted to ask more people to get a better understanding of how the fair was this year. Therefore, the co-author of this article, Paul Lian, did an interview of his own.

Paul L:
Speaking with the co-author of this article and fellow TJ student, Paul Orejimi, I learned how the Fair this year was compared to last. Asking him what he thought of the fair this year, he replied, “I’m not really a fair person, but it was a lot more fun this year since I went with friends.” I then inquired about last year’s fair and he said it was not as fun as this fall’s. “This year there was a lot more going on,” he answered. Orejimi is a photographer, so I asked him what the coolest picture of the fair was that he took this year. “Probably the far shot of the ferris wheel with the skyline,” he answered after thinking about it. Finally, I asked him if he had any advice for a newcomer to the fair and they responded, “Don’t go alone, have people to go with and you’ll have more fun. Enjoy yourself and don’t spend all your money.”

Paul O:
I also spoke with 12th grader Natalia Orellana, who also attended the fair. When I asked about the security of the fair, she noted that they “had a lot of security guards in the front.” I then asked about the prices, to which she replied that she was more focused on “the experience” and wasn’t really worried about Covid. I ended the interview with Natalia by asking her if she had anything to say for people going to the fair, to which she replied with “It’s fun and you should go.” The fair seems to be much stronger in security and the experience has become much better since recent years.

Paul L:
The Great Frederick Fair has always been a popular event, but this year was special because it felt like a return to normal. In 2020, there was no fair and last year, 2021, it just wasn’t as fun. But 2022 brought more excitement, more games, more food and felt like the fair we all think of when the Fall season arrives. For newcomers, try not to waste too much money and don’t go alone and you should have a great time.