There is something about that annual County Fair. Maybe it's the smell of woodsmoke as the old-timey craftsmen ply their trade. Maybe it's that distinctive aroma emanating from the cow barn or the horse barn or the swine barn or goat barn. Maybe it's hearing the roosters let off indiscriminate, random crows. Maybe the smell of the zesty artery-pluggers being prepared in trailers all over the midway. Or the look of the crowd, the bark of the carneys, the dime-a-dozen stuffed animals being won all over the place. The trinkets on the counters. The kids in snazzy Western dress leading their 4-H projects off to an auction or a skills presentation.
Yeah, I think it's the kids. For a week, there's a bunch of kids who are NOT playing video games (well, maybe later at night, in the camper...), or listening to hip hop, Disturbed, or Miley through tune-the-world-out earbuds, or playing in hyperscheduled organized sports, or texting messages, or hitting the mall or lifestyle center. No, they're talking in little groups, or combing out their calves for the show, or feeding that pen of rabbits, or sweeping the stall.
It's a different world at the Fair. The Fairgrounds becomes a little city, sort of like the Olympic Village. There's food, and shelter of sorts (sometimes with the owner bunking in a hammock alongside the livestock), commerce on the Midway, neighbors and a lot of neighborliness, sights, sounds, and smells. Like the buzz and smell of the chainsaw as the guy turns a stump of wood into a bear or an eagle. And, like at the Olympics, there are ribbons being handed out for jobs well done.
I was raised a city kid, but in those two hours or so that we spend at the Fair every year, I can go very much country.
I took some pictures of various odd objects around the Fair. Those would be reserved mainly for Friday postings. But here's a brief tribute to the animals that make the Fair fun for a lot of the fairgoers, this blogger included.
The guy with the chainsaw and one of his works.
A sideshow with five performing dogs, all rescue dogs,including this Frisbee-catching border collie.
The cow barn, 2004
Night-time at the Fair, 2004
4 comments:
I think this is the first summer of my life that we didn't go to the fair. There are two county fairs fairly close to us that we always attend but this year we were out of town and had other stuff going on. I really missed going. You forgot to mention the corn dogs, lemonade and elephant ears......
I heard on the news that the 2 new fair foods are fried pineapple and salad on a stick (iceberg lettuce wedge, tomato, etc on a skewer) Did you see either one? I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of the fried Twinkie!
Jessica, you are absolutely right with all three items! They are county fair basics!
Margaret, I'll buy the fried pineapple, maybe, but that salad on a stick sounds WAY too healthful for county fair fare. (Didn't see either one. Have to go back tomorrow night, so maybe I can look around for 'em).
And wrapping your brain around fried twinkies is definitely not good for you.
Loved the fair as a kid. Getting to ride the ferris wheel was what I wanted to do more than anything. Today..no thanks.
I do like those smells; once in awhile.
Post a Comment