Enduring leisure involvement: the importance of personal relationships

Abstract

In this investigation we sought to explore the properties of enduring leisure involvement from the perspective of campers attending an agricultural encampment and fair in the United States. Using informants' narratives of their experiences, we sought to address the research question: ‘what elements of informants' experience of the fair have sustained their involvement with it throughout their lives?’ It was revealed that informants' experiences at the fair were shared experiences and that their relationships with family and friends were identified as the most important and meaningful elements of their experience. These shared meanings were held by members of informants' immediate social world at the fair and consisted primarily of family and friends staying at their tent. These relationships also provided informants with a sense of their own identities. The 10 days spent at the fair each year allowed informants to reconnect with their family history and maintain their relationships with family and friends.

Acknowledgements

This research was funded through a grant provided by the National Science Foundation's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Program (cultural anthropology). The authors would like to thank Fran McGuire for his constructive criticism of earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Notes

Correspondence Address: Gerard Kyle, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, 263 Lehotsky Hall, P.O. Box 340735, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634‐0735, USA. Email: [email protected]

Data were collected by the first author.

Only textual data were analyzed for this paper.

This is a summary report provided by the Atlas/ti® software which includes all of my labels and assigned clauses. This summary report also made it unnecessary for him to read through all of the transcripts.

Freysinger's (1995) other components of agency were; (a) learning and development that leads to personal development and change, (b) challenge and accomplishment, and (c) recognition and credibility that follows from others' acknowledgement of personal skills.

Ten interviews were conducted with husband – wife couples. In the quotes reported here, the female informant's comments in brackets, my comments bolded.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

GERARD KYLE

Correspondence Address: Gerard Kyle, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, 263 Lehotsky Hall, P.O. Box 340735, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634‐0735, USA. Email: [email protected]