Sofia Tartakovskaya- 09/05/2022
Think back to your favorite memories; maybe it was waking up one delightful Christmas morning to see the decorations filling your walls and the colorful presents under this magnificent green tree standing twice your height surrounded by multicolored ornaments and lights wrapping it more times than you can count, topped with a star so gold you can’t take your eyes off it. Or how about arriving at the school dance with all your dressed-up gorgeous friends and dancing to the DJ’s colorful lights only to look off into the distance and see your date under what looks like stars above them. Think of the stuff that brings you pure joy and excitement… Now imagine it all without the lights, the color, the magic. That feeling you have right now is precisely why using colors and lights is so important. Now I may be a little biased because I am a theatre and production lighting designer, or maybe it just means I’m the only one who fully understands. Regardless, I think everyone can agree that decorations and colors change the emotions and tone of a setting so drastically that without them, it’s an entirely different experience.
In this case, we are talking about the Allentown County fair, which honestly isn’t different from most other small local fairs. As we walked into the funnel cake-smelling fairgrounds, the first thing all my friends noticed was the intense red and blue colors on the small Ferris wheel with a photo of Uncle Sam in the middle to resemble ‘Merican pride with practically no line. It was obvious then that we had to quickly get our ride wristbands and explore. The fair was only there for a short amount of time; so of course, all the rides were pop-up and quickly put together, but that didn’t take away from the fact that the rides were fun and approachable. The one thing I did notice that was a commonality among all the rides was the signs and colors. You could see all the colors of the rainbow walking around, and every single ride had a fun name and design like Magic Mirror or Pirate’s Plunge to attract kids and adults alike. But especially during the nighttime, it’s not just the paint and decorations that make the fair look alive; it’s the lights.
When you’re spinning 30 feet in the air on a ride and you open your eyes to see the multicolored lights from all directions strobing like you’re at a rave, you enjoy the time much more than if you’re just looking at the concrete parking lot that all the rides were plopped on. That out-of-this-world transformation is why people go to fairs/theme parks and shows. It’s not the rickety rides or the waiting in the heat, it’s the enjoyable experience that people are constantly searching for.
