Across the USA, the months of August and September bring with them an event that has been long awaited and prepared for…. causing anticipation, excitement, and wonder…….it's county fair time!
Attending the yearly county fair has been a beloved family tradition for centuries. According to their website, the Fredricksburg Agricultural Fair was started in VA in 1738, “for the sale of cattle, provisions, goods, wares, and all kinds of merchandise.” 274 years later, the county fair is still a place of commerce, and much more.
Here are 5 reasons why we love our county fairs
Fair Food
Fried pickles, doughboys, corn dogs, fritters….oh my! OK, so fair food is definitely not the healthiest food you could eat, but one day a year of fried goodness isn't going to hurt you, right?? Also, if you are purchasing said fried food from a fair booth run by a locally owned or volunteer run organization, the money is going back into your community. Yup, that's the perfect reason to eat fair food- to stimulate your local economy!
Local Vendors
County fairs were started to bring the community together for commerce and this is a purpose that is still carried on today. You can purchase anything at the county fair, from clothing to animals. Believe it or not it is easy to find items made in the USA. There are many vendors that sell local, handmade items. I found a more than one booth at my local fair that sold a huge majority of made in the USA items!
Competitions
County fairs are a great place to see the best of the best of…well…almost anything. In the livestock area are cows, chickens, rabbits, goats, and various other farm animals sporting ribbons. In the Arts and Crafts building are entries to the photography, baking, art, quilting, canning, and other contests. In the Agricultural building you can see the largest vegetables, the prettiest flowers, and the scariest scarecrows. In the event rings are the horse pulling, tractor pulling, truck pulling, …OK, if it can pull, it's in the fair contests. As well as competitions for the best lumber jack, strongest tug of war teams, fastest go carts, and farthest dung thrower. And don't forget the fair Queen and Princess contests!
Entertainment
From local to national acts, bands and musicians are bringing crowds in at local county fairs. If you ever go big in the country music business, be sure to play a tour of all the county fairs in the US! Besides music, some of the entertainment found at today's fairs includes acrobats, magicians, and local celebrities.
Rides
My kiddos will say their favorite part of the whole fair is the rides. Actually, what kid WON'T say their favorite part is the rides!? From old classics like the ferris wheel and carousel, to new favorites like the Zipper and Music Express, there are rides at the fair to accommodate all ages and thrill seeking levels.
County fairs are an absolute blast and always a highlight in my calendar whenever they come around. Great memories shared with great people and always easy to make new friends. I especially like quilting fairs though, and seeing what other people are creating.
in my child hood, i loved to visit fairs..it really fantasize me.thanks for sharing this lovely topic..
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We love going to all the county fairs that we can make it to during July and then of course the Indiana State Fair in August! As a matter of fact, while I was pregnant with my son 5 years ago, my husband suggested that we go to the county fair for our town on July 31st while I was 39 weeks pregnant. All the walking we did at the fair put me into labor and I had our son the following day on August 1st! We call him our “Fair Baby“! LOL
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What a great start to your son's birth story! Thanks for sharing!
Some great and easy tips. Thanks! 🙂
We love the Delaware State Fair. One year we went and won backstage passes to meet Jeff Dunham, who was performing. FUN!!
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