# Prison Rodeo? Nope. Prison Craft Fair, yes! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 24, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110 "2021-10-24T18:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/1 "2021-10-24T18:51:09Z")
😃 > **[Louisiana prison to hold crafts fair since rodeo canceled](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-louisiana-arts-and-crafts-ddbaf4fc31133a3aeed5bf2e2b9b9091)** > > BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — With the latest COVID-19 surge ebbing, the Louisiana State Penitentiary has created a one-day arts and crafts fair to partly make up for the pandemic-prompted cancellation of its rodeo. > [@](#): > > “Because of waning infection rates and increasing vaccination rates inside our state prisons, we have been able to [reopen prisoner visitation](https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/pronto/78213322d21c43c08f04285644dac816) and now are able to open the prison to the public,” state Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Jimmy Le Blanc said in a news release Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/2 "2021-10-24T22:17:11Z")
Do Not Buy the Pop-sickle Stick recreation of the Bridge Over the River Kwai. That is NOT glue holding it together! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/3 "2021-10-24T23:58:00Z")
prison crafts: > **[Objects Made by Prisoners in the United States](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/viewfinder-made-in-the-usa/605527/)** > > None [https://worksthatwork.com/5/innovation-behind-bars](https://worksthatwork.com/5/innovation-behind-bars) [https://weburbanist.com/2009/09/10/insane-prisoner-inventions-24-diy-prison-tools-weapons/](https://weburbanist.com/2009/09/10/insane-prisoner-inventions-24-diy-prison-tools-weapons/) [https://www.tablazed.com/2018/04/incredibly-lethal-made-in-prison-weapons.html](https://www.tablazed.com/2018/04/incredibly-lethal-made-in-prison-weapons.html) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/4 "2021-10-25T00:40:19Z")
So the Covid rate has dropped to the point that inmates aren’t dying fast enough to make room for the newbies? What a wonderful way to make the prison system look good while reinfecting the prison populace. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/5 "2021-10-25T00:52:16Z")
2021 is shaping up to be a good vintage for toilet wine. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/6 "2021-10-25T03:08:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So the Covid rate has dropped to the point that inmates aren’t dying fast enough to make room for the newbies? What a wonderful way to make the prison system look good while reinfecting the prison populace. Maybe I’m missing your point here - but are you saying a declining covid rate in prisons is a bad thing? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/7 "2021-10-25T03:12:08Z")
On the subject of prison craft fairs, this is not a new thing. Prisoners have a lot of time on their hands and making craft projects is a popular hobby. Many prisoners become very skilled. The local county fair when I was growing up had an entire building dedicated to prisoner craft projects (and still does as far as I know). Some were just on display (with ribbon judging for the best projects) and others were for sale to the community. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/8 "2021-10-25T04:05:54Z")
For sure; from the article linked in the OP: > [@](#): > > The department [announced](https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-sports-health-louisiana-pandemics-6872ae5b974aff67a6d03adc11ac2974) in August that it was canceling the rodeo for an unprecedented second year in a row. The rodeo and an accompanying arts and crafts fair had been slated for each weekend in October. > > Items that normally would have been sold during those weekends will be on sale Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They include handmade jewelry, leathercrafts, paintings, barbecue pits, swings, rocking chairs, and tables. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/9 "2021-10-25T04:52:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > On the subject of prison craft fairs, this is not a new thing. Prisoners have a lot of time on their hands and making craft projects is a popular hobby. Many prisoners become very skilled. As a lawyer, I’ve been to the local correctional centre many times. There is a small gift shop in the public reception lobby (a couple of glass cabinets, really), where crafts made by the inmates are for sale. I’ve perused it when my contact-officer is going to be a little late. For the most part, the offerings are beadwork–earrings, necklaces, and so on–but there are also watercolour paintings and pencil sketches, suitable for framing. All display a high degree of skill. The receptionist will be happy to sell a visitor any of the items in the cabinets, and the proceeds will go on the account of the inmate who produced the purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/10 "2021-10-25T05:46:44Z")
I was definitely being sarcastic. I always have doubts about programs supposedly design to benefit prisoners at Angola(aka Louisiana State Penitentiary), the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. There have been allegations of underreporting Covid at that prison, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this little craft fair was more for the benefit of the system then for the benefit of the prisoners. Wiki has a brief outline about Angola, but it provides links if you really want to learn more about it. [Louisiana State Penitentiary - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_State_Penitentiary) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/11 "2021-10-25T05:48:40Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > The receptionist will be happy to sell a visitor any of the items in the cabinets, and the proceeds will go on the account of the inmate who produced the purchase. 100% of the proceeds, or do they deduct the cost of materials? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/12 "2021-10-25T06:27:42Z")
All of the proceeds. The inmate purchases materials from the canteen using his or her own account funds, designs and creates the item, and sets their own price. Thus, $3 worth of beads and other necessary things can become an $8 pair of earrings. If the earrings sell, then the net profit to the inmate is $5, which can be put towards more craft supplies, or anything else that the canteen offers. It’s a nice program. The correctional centre does have jobs for inmates, but they tend to be of the mopping-floor or wiping-meal-tray variety. This is a chance for inmates to enjoy a hobby, and make a few dollars at it, at the same time. I should note that “canteen” is a bit of a misnomer, though it is the word that we all use. While it does sell snack foods, candy, soft drinks, and ramen noodles (which are very popular); it also sells such things as pencil-puzzle books, stationery and stamps, magazines, and more–including art and craft supplies, which the inmates can buy, in order to make items to sell at a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/13 "2021-10-25T06:29:45Z")
I hope it works the same way at Angola. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/14 "2021-10-25T15:31:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I was definitely being sarcastic. I always have doubts about programs supposedly design to benefit prisoners at Angola(aka Louisiana State Penitentiary), the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. There have been allegations of underreporting Covid at that prison, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this little craft fair was more for the benefit of the system then for the benefit of the prisoners. I was aware you were being sarcastic - or czarcastic as the case may be. But even sarcasm has a point. The point you seemed to be making was that even when a prison does something positive, you will find some hidden motive behind their actions and still judge them as being evil. And when you choose to ignore the actions of a person, a group, or an organization and judge it only on your pre-existing beliefs, it’s nothing but prejudice in the literal sense of the word. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/15 "2021-10-25T17:05:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Prisoners have a lot of time on their hands and making craft projects is a popular hobby. Many prisoners become very skilled. The Folsom Prison Museum has on display a very elaborate model Ferris Wheel that an inmate made entirely out of toothpicks back in the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/16 "2021-10-25T18:21:37Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Do Not Buy the Pop-sickle Stick recreation of the Bridge Over the River Kwai. That is NOT glue holding it together! Is that why it fell apart the first time I tried to send my train over it? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/17 "2021-10-26T03:11:50Z")
[The Bridge on the River Kwai - Madness… MADNESS! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAoBW3yjlvA) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/18 "2021-10-26T03:17:07Z")
Angola doesn’t get a free pass. If they are starting a program, it should be looked into to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prison-rodeo-nope-prison-craft-fair-yes/953110/19 "2021-10-26T05:34:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Angola doesn’t get a free pass. If they are starting a program AFAICT from the OP’s link as well as from other sources, Angola [has always had the arts and crafts fair accompanying the rodeo](https://www.racked.com/2016/6/28/12043836/angola-prison-rodeo-craft-fair); they’re not just “starting” it because of the rodeo cancellations.