Editorial: Spring is our fair season

Friday, April 7, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

In Southern Nevada, the advent of spring means the arrival of the four-day Clark County Fair and Rodeo, which opened Thursday in Logandale.

County fairs are a summer staple in most areas of the country. But in the desert, summer days are hot enough to melt cotton candy right off the stick. Spring offers a far more tolerable environment for enjoying ice cream cones and rodeo clowns. And Logandale is only an hour's drive north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15.

There are few better ways to spend a breezy spring day than meandering along the paths of the fairgrounds, taking in an exhibit of chugging, puffing steam engines and tractors or admiring the handiwork of a local quilter or cake decorator.

Many of our residents are talented horticulturists, seamstresses, painters, culinary artists and photographers, and the proof fills row upon row of displays. Stages in every corner of the fairgrounds showcase local dancers, singers and musicians, while the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour shows off some of the nation's finest cowboys and cowgirls.

Although Southern Nevada's landscape changes almost daily, the sights and sounds of its county fair remain familiar, with balloon vendors, midway barkers and spinning amusement rides, which make some patrons wish they had not eaten that second corn dog. Youngsters from all over Nevada show the farm animals they've raised, illustrating that even with iPods and the Internet, a fair number of children still seek a hard day's work in the sunshine and open air.

It's springtime in Southern Nevada. Celebrate it a little at the fair.