FRYEBURG, Maine — It's the last big agricultural fair of the season, a time when individuals and families gather to celebrate the best of rural Maine, both past and present. But, this year, a modern reality has set in at the Fryeburg Fair.
For the first time ever, when people walk through the gates at the fair, they're also walking through a metal detector.
Jacob Sinclair knows his way around the Fryeburg Fair. "It's my birthday in a few days. I come here every year for my birthday," Sinclair said. This year, keeping that tradition got a little easier for him, admitting worries about violence are never far away when he's in a crowd.
"At concerts and all that kinds of stuff, sometimes it's just a small worry in the back of my head." For Sinclair, adding metal detectors at the fair's entrances has washed that worry away.
"Coming here, especially with that new thing, it makes me feel a little bit better about it."
"It really was all about safety. We want our people to feel safe when they're here at the fairgrounds," Dave Hastings, president of the Fryeburg Fair, said when asked about his reasoning behind the decision.
Hastings says the fair has always banned guns, but it wasn't until adding the detectors, they realized how many people were still bringing them in.
"We're not anti-gun here at all. Most of the family are gun owners, but there are places for guns and there are places they shouldn't be," he said.
Hastings said feedback has generally been good, but not everyone is on board. "I don't see that it's any safer because they can buy the same things inside," Jessica Dodge, a fairgoer, said.
At the Natural Resource Center, guns are on display. They're not for sale, but Dodge said she's seen other weapons like knives and swords that were. She believes banning any of them is pointless.
"If somebody wants to really bring it in they're going to bring it in, whether they jump a fence somewhere or just walk through a part that's not even gated," Dodge said.
Hastings considers Dodge's opinion the minority. "I actually have not heard a lot of complaints and I actually have heard a lot of people say they appreciate us doing this." For him, the hassle is worth it when he hears the relief in the voices of people he's spoken with.
Jacob Sinclair is one of those people. "There's a bunch of kids here, some kids get worried with it. Some parents get worried about their families, so it adds some extra protection for them," Sinclair said.
To add extra safety precautions, Hastings said they're considering tightening security up a little more for next year.