Right you are, L-EJ.
No one in their right mind would go to that place and think of it as entertainment...accurate as hell, but not entertaining.
The whole point of fair is that it's an escape from reality.
Previous posters had remarked about the broad range of time-lines, authenticity, modernity at various fairs.
I have worked at the Maryland fair for over 20 years. My Pyrates Royale Band freely admit that we are 300 years out of step with the Henry VIII theme of the fair. If we were totally honest, we would also have to admit that our charming, handsome, personable Henry is nothing like the self-centered, infected, nearly-infertile, wife-murdering, Catholic-persecuting, land-grabbing king with his retinue of social climbers and back-stabbers.
If a commoner (read:YOU) were to approach the real Henry to ask the time of day, they wouldn't be knighted, they would likely be stabbed by the king's guard tossed into a stinking prison until you died.
This season we had more than 300,000 paying patrons over the nine week run. I attribute this number to the fact that our king's guards don't stab that many patrons during the season.
The wares sold at fairs also vary greatly. At MDRF the vendors sell what they make, and most items are true examples of the artisan's craft. I've also seen fairs where the cardboard boxes of ale mugs from China are barely hidden from view, but the vendor claims that "It's all hand made by me".
Our Jousters also really joust. If a rider is knocked off, he didn't take a dive. Shattered lances have really shattered. Not gimmicked. This is not always so.
If you go to fairs like Maryland, Georgia, Carolina, Texas, the two NEW York fairs (Howdy MMario)and don't find something to make you smile, then you are probably trying to have a bad time. Drink more.
So it's not for everybody. But it's no more silly than many other pastimes...like folk music. Teehee.