Although the location and the name for the annual fair has changed, the passion of those sponsoring the fair has not.

Members of Beta Alpha believed that safety concerns with construction on the school grounds required them to move the location of the fair which will be held at the City Park this year.

Summer Fest, the name of this year’s annual fair, will be held Wednesday, July 6, through Saturday, July 9. The traditional events will be held - there will be pageants and music every night and the parade will be held along North Curtis Avenue Saturday, as usual.

The fair was begun in 1950 as a centennial celebration. The organizers of that event could not have foreseen the events in the

Pea Ridge is a great community with good people, a good school, friendly business people and a number of friendly churches.

The ladies of Beta Alpha have worked tirelessly planning and preparing for this year’s fair. Let’s all turn out and support them. Enter items for the competion at the exhibits. Watch and vote for your favorite in the pageants. Listen to the music. And find one of the ladies and tell them “thank you” for their service.

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Editor’s note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County. A native of Louisiana, she moved to this area in 1980. She has nine children, three sonsin-law, two grandsons and another grandchild due in January. She can be reached at [email protected].

decades that followed, but their work laid the foundation for an annual familyfriendly community event enjoyed by many.

There are changes this year.

The fair being held at the City Park and not downtown on the old school grounds may be disconcerting to some (it seems the older we get, the more we resist change), there is no value in complaining.

This community has grown and changed and we each need to work with what we have.

The ladies of Beta Alpha have sponsored the fair for 40 years.

The construction work on the school grounds, and the downed limbs from high winds, forced the change. The school could hardly stall the construction for more than a week for the fair because the work must be done before the children come back to school in seven weeks. While we may resist change, we may also embrace the positive aspects of it.

The construction is necessitated by growth in student population. The growth at the school is because many people move into our community seeking the small-town feel, the friendliness of the community and the blessings of a good school system that is small enough for the children to have a personal relationship with the teachers and one another.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 06/29/2011