Fargo
- Guy Collins
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
The contrast between Glastonbury Festival and the Red River Fair is pretty much as wide as the Atlantic Ocean I crossed a week ago today, but both are fun and also very important cultural events in their respective localities!
This is my first proper fair of the season, and it's a great and very interesting way to start off the season. I have never been to North Dakota before, and Fargo is certainly far from anywhere. The area is pretty much flat and there are very few trees which means there is always a wind blowing, not ideal for a juggler, but fortunately my props are pretty heavy as I have spent most of my career performing outside and have adapted my show accordingly, so I am not too drastically affected by such conditions. The state vehicle plate has a picture of a Bison standing proud upon the prairie, and I am sincerely hoping to see some of these magnificent beasts before I have to leave.
Here is a link to the Red River Fair https://www.redrivervalleyfair.com/ where you can also find links to my coworkers, I'm sharing a dressing room with Rock-it the Robot and Safari Sam and Oscar the Awesome Ostrich.
As you can imagine, sharing a dressing room with an 8-foot robot plus an enormous (and at times flatulent) Ostrich is interesting to say the least. Both are great fun, as well as being fantastic entertainment. I get a real kick watching peoples faces when they see either of them for the first time. Children are often left staring upwards, with their mouths open in disbelief.
So far (we are now on day 5) my own performances have been very well received, and I am finding the people of North Dakota incredibly friendly despite the intimidating size and brawn of some of these farmers.
It would be wrong of me not to mention the very interesting accent they have here. It's a real joy to listen to. I love regional accents and this one is truly special. If you want to hear it yourself watch the movie "Fargo" by the Coen brothers. I'm just glad that I am here in the summer and not the winter where it can get down to -34 Celsius (-30 Fahrenheit), in fact so far it's been lovely.
All the staff of the fair have been welcoming and helpful. The bigger music acts are starting this evening, and we are anticipating a busier fair. I'm most intrigued by the group "Hairball" who are playing tomorrow night and promise a raucous rock show. I wonder if they are as hairy as the Bison I'm hoping to see!
