Behind the Table

September 29, 2022

For most of her childhood, my daughter Ella has had one answer to the question "What do you think you'll be when you grow up?" Her answer: "Whatever it is, it won't involve festivals. I've had enough of those."

The next month puts North Americans in the thick of festival season: food festivals, community festivals, music festivals, harvest festivals, Halloween festivals, and charity fundraisers for excellent causes. In the South, it's finally cool enough to make many hours spent outside enjoyable; us Northerners feel compelled to pack it all in before the snow flies. So there's a fun family festival in every direction, as you'll see when you check out our calendar of upcoming events.

Because community festivals are so family-friendly, those of us staffing booths often bring our kids. This means that—incentivized by as much festival food as she wants—Ella has spent many days behind KOAA tables over the years, passing out info, describing the website, encouraging kids to spin our prize wheel. The view from behind the table is distinctly different from in front of the table, which has prompted your KOAA editors to create our handy article Tips for Bringing Kids to Festivals.

For all of her joking about having had a lifetime's fill of festivals already, being the person behind the table at a young age has showed Ella not only how community organizing works, but also that she's someone who can do it. And it has taught her small but crucial skills, like how to look people in the eye, and how to interact with kids and adults authoritatively. It has taught her cheerful boundary setting ("Can you take just one, please, so we have enough for everyone?"). It has shown her how to make the best of experiences that are sometimes boring, or uncomfortable, or fatiguing, and to do it with a smile.

Behind every scene, there are people who make it happen. So this festival season, get out and about with your family! Discover who those people are. Introduce yourself to the nice lady and her kids behind the table. And go eat some corn dogs.

—Deb