It''s County Fair time...

[monarch64]

Does anyone go to theirs? Is it just a small town/midwestern thing? My county''s is this week and I''m actually looking forward to going. Cotton candy, elephant ears, all things country, ha ha...

 

[Upgradable]

LOVE the county fairs!! Some of my greatest childhood and high school memories are from the county fair!! Another fun thing are the little town "festivals." First week of August the family and I will be driving 700 miles to go to the Sweet Corn Festival!

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Yep, we go to ours every year. I always went when I was a kid, and I have made DH go ever since we first started dating. Ours is not until August, but I am already excited about it!

 

[monarch64]

Oh, good *sigh of relief*....glad I''m not the only one! I really enjoy this kind of thing, I grew up going to the Fair every year and it''s just a nostalgic tradition now.

 

[Linda W]

Not so much, as we go to our state fair in Sacramento. That is the big one. There are so many things to do there and to see. We love it.

 

[packrat]

I''ve not been to it in years..the last time was when I ran for Fair Queen, like 15 years ago. This year it rained pretty much the whole 4 days anyway. And, our fair is so small. In August, a town about an hour away from us has their fair and it''s a week long event and people come from all over. Hoping to take the kids to that one!

 

[D&T]

we used to when I lived in another state. But not here as there seems to be some sort of incident every year and kinda scary.

 

[Erin]

That''s where we spent boyfriend''s 40th birthday last Friday. Everyone was already going to be there so it just fit.

 

[Upgradable]

It''s always entertaining, in sooo many ways! We love checking out the "tooth to tatoo" ratio!

 

[monarch64]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:46:42 PM
Author: Upgradable
It''s always entertaining, in sooo many ways! We love checking out the ''tooth to tatoo'' ratio!

The people-watching cannot be rivaled, for sure!

 

[April20]

The one in my hometown is generally around Labor Day. They do a parade the week of (can''t remember which day it is). The parade consists of all the local high school bands, all the cheerleading squads in the back of pick up trucks throwing candy at the crowd, all the beauty pagent girls on the backs of cars from the local dealerships (of course there''s a pagent associated with the fair!) Oh, and don''t forget all the fire trucks and cop cars that join in for sound effects.

The fair is your standard stuff- rides, cotton candy, elephant ears. There''s a tractor pull on Saturday night. My parents live about 8 miles from the fair grounds and you can hear the tractor pull from their house. I''ve been to the tractor pull more times than I''d like to admit. Nothing like rednecks with big trucks. The people watching is FANTASTIC.

I went for the first time in probably ten years about five years ago. I took some friends with me that had never experienced such pleasures and we had a blast! I should totally take DH this year. You''ve just given me a great idea that he will kill me for.

 

[Upgradable]

Date: 7/13/2009 5:12:55 PM
Author: April20
The one in my hometown is generally around Labor Day. They do a parade the week of (can''t remember which day it is). The parade consists of all the local high school bands, all the cheerleading squads in the back of pick up trucks throwing candy at the crowd, all the beauty pagent girls on the backs of cars from the local dealerships (of course there''s a pagent associated with the fair!) Oh, and don''t forget all the fire trucks and cop cars that join in for sound effects.

The fair is your standard stuff- rides, cotton candy, elephant ears. There''s a tractor pull on Saturday night. My parents live about 8 miles from the fair grounds and you can hear the tractor pull from their house. I''ve been to the tractor pull more times than I''d like to admit. Nothing like rednecks with big trucks. The people watching is FANTASTIC.

I went for the first time in probably ten years about five years ago. I took some friends with me that had never experienced such pleasures and we had a blast! I should totally take DH this year. You''ve just given me a great idea that he will kill me for.

OMG!!!!! Did we grow up in the same town????

I forgot to add the memories of throwing up from eating too much junk!

 

[Fly Girl]

Our house isn''t much, but one of its features that we didn''t know about when we bought it, is that it is on the town''s annual parade route. So, every year the parade from the fair comes to us!!!

Can entertaining get any easier?

Love wandering around the fair. It''s a great part of summer.

 

[TravelingGal]

I love cheesy fairs. I''ve been to LA once, and it was just too stinkin'' hot. but it was fun and doofy.

In the city I grew up in, there is the "hometown fair" every year. More of a crafts thing. Not as fun and cheesy as the county fairs, but I like it there too.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:02:55 PM
Author: Linda W
Not so much, as we go to our state fair in Sacramento. That is the big one. There are so many things to do there and to see. We love it.

do and see what grandma?

been the same for the past 37 yrs. haven''t gone to the state fair in the past 4 yrs.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:43:42 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
We go to the Del Mar Fair every year (renamed the San Diego County Fair but.. I can''t get over the name).. Its fun.. love it!!

I miss going to Del Mar fair. It was a must-do each summer when I was at SDSU. and yep, it''s still the DEL MAR fair- just like it will always be THE MURPH (boooo Qualcomm Stadium!)

 

[LadyBlue]

Yes, I love them, I love cotton candy

 

[Linda W]

Date: 7/13/2009 6:42:11 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 7/13/2009 4:02:55 PM

Author: Linda W

Not so much, as we go to our state fair in Sacramento. That is the big one. There are so many things to do there and to see. We love it.

do and see what grandma?

been the same for the past 37 yrs. haven''t gone to the state fair in the past 4 yrs.

Well DF, come with us this year and we will show you the fun things. You aren''t looking in the right places then.

I love their corn dogs.

 

[qtiekiki]

I just went to my first ever county fair this past Sun with DD (her first too since she is only 11 months). I can''t wait til DD is older b/c I think it''ll be so much fun then.

 

[April20]

Date: 7/13/2009 5:15:00 PM
Author: Upgradable

Date: 7/13/2009 5:12:55 PM
Author: April20
The one in my hometown is generally around Labor Day. They do a parade the week of (can''t remember which day it is). The parade consists of all the local high school bands, all the cheerleading squads in the back of pick up trucks throwing candy at the crowd, all the beauty pagent girls on the backs of cars from the local dealerships (of course there''s a pagent associated with the fair!) Oh, and don''t forget all the fire trucks and cop cars that join in for sound effects.

The fair is your standard stuff- rides, cotton candy, elephant ears. There''s a tractor pull on Saturday night. My parents live about 8 miles from the fair grounds and you can hear the tractor pull from their house. I''ve been to the tractor pull more times than I''d like to admit. Nothing like rednecks with big trucks. The people watching is FANTASTIC.

I went for the first time in probably ten years about five years ago. I took some friends with me that had never experienced such pleasures and we had a blast! I should totally take DH this year. You''ve just given me a great idea that he will kill me for.

OMG!!!!! Did we grow up in the same town????

I forgot to add the memories of throwing up from eating too much junk!

Yours is that classy too, huh? Given it''s a traveling fair, I wonder how many there are of those and how many of us are actually getting the same fair in different zip codes.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

We started a tradition with our best friends...we take our kids together every year. My friend and I have known eachother since 4th grade and our kids have known eachother their entire lives. We have pictures of us before kids, preggo with kids, and now with our 3 kids each. They love it as well!

 

[oneandahalfrock]

Date: 7/13/2009 3:52:38 PM
Author:monarch64
Does anyone go to theirs? Is it just a small town/midwestern thing? My county''s is this week and I''m actually looking forward to going. Cotton candy, elephant ears, all things country, ha ha...

Okay, what is an elephant ear??? I assume its some type of carnival food...?
LOL, okay, I''m not a big fair person, but maybe this mysterious treat will tempt me

 

[loriken214]

I was a member of the Future Farmers of America in high school and raised show rabbits. We showed my rabbits at County Fairs all over the State of Texas. It was really fun!

Our largest event is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and it has all of the fun County Fair stuff on steroids. You get a bit of everything!

Lori

 

[loriken214]

Oh, my late Mom was a charter member of the Houston/Harris County Fair. It is now called the Houston Farm and Ranch Club.

Lori

 

[April20]

Date: 7/13/2009 10:11:59 PM
Author: oneandahalfrock

Date: 7/13/2009 3:52:38 PM
Author:monarch64
Does anyone go to theirs? Is it just a small town/midwestern thing? My county''s is this week and I''m actually looking forward to going. Cotton candy, elephant ears, all things country, ha ha...

Okay, what is an elephant ear??? I assume its some type of carnival food...?
LOL, okay, I''m not a big fair person, but maybe this mysterious treat will tempt me

Elephant ears are a funnel cake type thing.

 

[justginger]

I think Upgradable and April and I *all* grew up in the same town! Corn Days was written in stone, first weekend of August, for every summer of my childhood (it actually took place in my grandparents'' town, so it was our yearly summer visit). Just like you described -- cheap crafts, way too much food, bouncy castles, as much free sweet corn as you could choke down (with butter running down your face!), and the fantastic 19-float-long parade (including the ones that were "Class of 19XX" with about 6 members on lawn chairs).

Oh how I miss it. The Royal Show in Perth is fabulous, but not nearly as tacky nor as quaint. I''d trade in the LottoWest fireworks for a turtle race anyday...

 

[Erin]

I think we get the same traveling fair!

I prefer funnel cakes to elephant ears - same basic thing, though.

 

[monarch64]

Funnel cakes/elephant ears= fried sugary goodness that will probably kill you slowly over time.

Yum!

 

[somethingshiny]

We were just disappointed the other day because we didn''t get to go to one of our "usual" fairs. I think our county has just about the best county fair I''ve been to. It''s in late August and we go several times every year. We used to show hogs at a couple of fairs and it becomes a sort of a rite of passage for all of our kids.

Our local fairs have demo derbies, tractor pulls, rodeo, in addition to the badly assembled rides and nasty delicious food. DH won''t ride the fair rides because of how they''re assembled so ever since we were dating he knows I''m gonna find someone to ride the Zipper with me even if it''s a complete stranger.

When I was about 15 I rode one of the vomit-inducing rides 7 times in a row...for free...I was cute....and all the other carnies began offering us free rides because my friend and I could hold our lunch!