"Any form of fair or public festival is a great time to both enjoy oneself and to bring attention and economic development to your hometown. The Shiprock Fair has filled this role in the northern Navajo Nation for 98 years.

It is the oldest such fair on the Navajo Nation.

All that time, and the organizers still seem to not have a grasp on the basics.

Having a successful fair requires more than just execution. There needs to be comprehensive planning both before the event to anticipate its needs, and after the event to ensure the town's normal rhythm returns.

Shiprock Fair volunteers demonstrated last weekend that they have an excellent grasp on what sort of cleanup is needed following this sort of celebration. Members of the community displayed their civic pride by picking up trash along the route of the fair's parade.

All of the people and businesses who participated deserve the highest of praise for their volunteerism and community spirit.

But that doesn't change the fact that the reason so many volunteers were needed is because of a severe crisis in planning the fair in the first place.

It seems unbelievable that no one who organizes the fair thought at any point that the parade might need garbage cans in order to keep the streets of Shiprock clean."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Using trash cans is a no-brainer (The Farmington Daily Times 10/8)

Related Stories:
Crews clean up after annual Shiprock Fair (10/6)
Column: Navajo Code Talkers get parade spot (10/5)
Column: Code Talkers lack money for parade (10/2)