Back in the county where I grew up, it's fair week. My friends have been telling me about how their kids have been doing with their animals and 4-H projects, and my parents have told me about what's there this year. I have fond memories of the fair, of eating junkfood, walking around aimlessly, visiting the animal barns and being jealous of the kids who got to stay in them with their animals, of blueberry pie eating and watermelon seed spitting contests. I remember going to see how my 4-H projects did, how my dad's open-class plants did, how my mom's open-class bread did. At the far end of the fairgrounds was the horse area, and the horses had a special mystique because they were so far away from the other areas.
We'll be having the fair here in August, but it isn't a week, it's just a weekend, and it's about 20 times smaller than the fair I went to growing up. Part of the reason is the size. The county I live in now covers almost 8,900 square miles, but has just 9,500 inhabitants. The county I grew up in, located in the Midwest, covers about 560 square miles, but has over 30,000 inhabitants.
Nevertheless, I enjoy our county fair out here, but it's still not quite the same as walking through the county fair and seeing it through the eyes of a child. Or remembering an aunt throwing up after going on the tilt-a-whirl. Or picking (and eating) so many blueberries before heading to the fair that our teeth and tongues were blue for days. Or getting so excited about getting my first ribbon.
What are your favorite memories of your county fair?
1 comment:
Thanks for the fond memories of going to the fair with your family and my 2 girls. (And,yes, I am the aunt who turned absolutely green on the tilt-a-whirl). However, I loved looking at the exhibits, and the cake judging, and the pie eating contests. As a big city slicker, I remember laughing so hard at the sound the sheep made, and when I did an imitation, your mom warned me that the competitors take it very seriously, so I quit my bahhhing. I also remember lemonade that tasted like sulphur. YUK! We also enjoyed the blueberry picking that also accompanied our trip to your neck of the woods. Good memories for sure!!!
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