ARTS

Quite Dandy: Yankee Doodle Fair provides community with sense of familiarity, recovery

Giselle Oldani’22

Web Managing Editor

Kids hang in the clouds on rainbow-colored swings, while others, becoming a blur, spin around on Zero Gravity. Around the corner, parents pay for their children’s third shot at a jumbo stuffed animal. At the Yankee Doodle Fair, the options are endless, and this year, even more desirable after 18 months of quarantine, social distancing and COVID-19. “It feels good to get back out on the road and start seeing the customers again,” Stewart Amusements Manager Fred Zinsser said. The Yankee Doodle Fair has been a tradition in Westport for 70 years. This year, the fair included many long time favorites such as Rockstar, Scrambler, Zero Gravity and Cobra. Aside from rides, the festival boasted raffl e prizes, carnival games and two concerts. Pre-teens, toddlers and parents mostly fi lled the crowd. On Friday night, the line for tickets stretched into the drive-in movie theatre next door. “There’s not as many rides as last year and there’s a lot more younger generation kids,” Lauranne Devos ’22 said, “but it’s still fun, and [I’m] making the most out of it.” To be as safe as possible, hand sanitizer dispensers were placed all throughout the fairgrounds. Attendee Theresa Paniccia brought her two daughters, believing the event to be a safe way to raise spirits. “[The fair] is outdoors for one,” Paniccia said. “For two, I think that all these kids are back in school and the school numbers are low. Why would you not do something like this?” The Yankee Doodle Fair is valued for yet another reason though; it is charity. The fair is actually a fundraiser hosted by the Westport Woman’s Club to raise money for grants to community service organizations and needbased scholarships for Staples High School seniors. The Bank of America and the Westport National Bank were the fair’s major sponsors. Although all the benefi ts of the fair are undeniable, some were just thankful for the chance to casually go out and have fun, like old times. “It’s good to socialize,” Alex Esser ’25 said. “It’s great to see people around again.”

Graphic by Madeline Michalowski ’22

Westport Traditi on

The Yankee Doodle Fair, which took place from Sept. 23 - 26, is a staple in the Westport community and attracted massive crowds, featuring rides such as the Expo Wheel, Sky Hawk and Tornado.

Graphic by Madeline Michalowski ’22