~Contributed by Sara Jones~

It’s October and there’s a chill in the air. In North Carolina that means State Fair time. Now, for those who are not from the U.S., or for those who are, but don’t live in “the South” -- you may not know what this means. Think Oktoberfest or New Year’s Eve 1999…all of the fun without the alcohol…well for the most part.

Point is, here in “the South,” people take the State Fair very seriously. People routinely eat at the same places and ride the same rides year after year. It’s a tradition.

I’m not from “the South,” so each year I find it rather amusing as people make preparations to do the same thing they did the year before. For me, it seems like somewhat of a boring practice.

This year I read an article about how the “same old, same old” for the Fair is actually what people love most. It got me thinking, maybe I’m the crazy one. While that may be true maybe change really isn’t always what people want.

Since SAS Global Forum has been around for 36 years the same theory could apply. What do you think? Do the same things bring you back year after year or is it fresh ideas and innovations that entice you to attend? Let us know…