I have frequented my share of state and county fairs in WV, Ohio and Maryland and it really is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the fairs seem to exhibit the “worst case scenarios of food” in that it is something of a horrorshow of dietary choices. Fried, high salt, high sugar. Ugh.

Are county fairs a microcosm of what we value? http://michaelmaczesty.blogspot.com/2011/07/because-toys-and-games-dont-cause-type.html

A young California 4-H member and her rabbit wait for showmanship at the Santa Barbara county Fair

While *I* like the agricultural and craft parts of the fair, my kids like only the cute bunnies, petting farm, racing pigs and MAINLY the midway. This has been true since they were young.They are now mid and late teen age. From what I can see at our local fair, the midway and concerts are, sadly, the biggest draw. But, I suppose, they also help pay for the ‘good’ parts.

For me, fairs are nostalgic. I grew up on a small farm and went to many fairs. As an adult, I don’t have any farm animals, but I think it’s important my 9-year old be exposed to farm animals, to see where food comes from. Last weekend, we went to the Hampden County 4-H Fair in West Springfield, MA to see my 4 nephews show their dairy goats. My son had a great time, especially after he won the trophy for the kid’s tractor pull ….a wonderful memory!

I’ve won 2 Best of Shows with my cakes at the Lake County Fair in Northwest Indiana.  The secret is to have a lot of thin layers.  Add a different color frosting.  I love the barrel races.  I go to see the antiques and collectibles.  They show a lot of history.  And, of course, the food.

I grew up a quarter of mile away from the Canfiled Fair in Ohio, and still love going back.  During the Fair, we never needed an alarm clock; the roosters would crow, the cows would moo, the sheep would baaaaaa and it was a wonderful way to wake up!  As a kid, I was in 4H and would “show: my pony, Lilac.  Hanging out all day in the barns was so fun…there are always a couple calves born during those five days and we’d go over and let them suck on our fingers.  What good memories…I can smell them all as if I were there!

The county fair was and is a staple of my life growing up in the rural south. They are a stellar example of community and sustainability. This new focus on ‘green living’ often manifests itself in the upper-middle class through high priced organic items at the upscale, Whole Foods type market. While this is good, I think it’s overlooked by some that that the fair is full of people of all ages with true sustainability skills from agriculture, canning, sewing, crafts, etc. Definitely a celebration that should be held in high esteem!

Well, the Texans may think they have the weirdest foods & beverages at their county fairs; but, I’ll tell you all what, that ain’t nothin’ compared to the fair at Whitman County in the evergreen state of Washington, right on the edge of Colfax, the county seat.

Just last week I captured a wasps’ nest inside a plastic bag in fell-swoop; I was scared half to death, thinkin’ if I missed they’d all swarm out and attack me and kill me on the spot with about 50 deadly injections of their venom, to which I’m highly allergic. Gettin’ stung by a wasp, say on the back of your hand, feels as though you just plunged your hand into boiling water. Anyway, now there’re trapped inside not on but three transparent plastic bags; I didn’t want those tiny little varmints to stab their tails through the first bag and escape, you see.

So, I strung that tripple-nested bag up where their nest used to be, just so they might vibrate their distress to other perhaps freely roaming wasps, warning them away, hopefully, like a crazed bugle call.

After a week, once they were completely dead and desicated, I ground their little corpses up into a coarse powder, then mixed it into a bowl of oatmeal, added some Canadian 100 percent pure maple suryup on top, and served it up for dessert. That entry won me a second place ribbon. I won’t even tell you all what won first place since it ain’t fit for public discourse.

Haven’t gone to the california state fair in years.  It’s too ghetto here and frankly dangerous.  Last year they had to shoot an escaped cow that was “rampaging” through the promenade.  The year or two before that, they called in the riot police to stop an epic 300 person gang fight. For some reason they think they can lure people back with delicacies like maggot burgers that apparently taste just like crunchy cheese.   Yeah, right…

Oh, and the creepy carnies scare the hell out of me.   

Drake, thanks for your work…I can say I knew you when!

Thanks so much for this show! And that book. I tried to call in, but couldn’t get through. Jackie, you are probably aware of the great cream puffs at the WI State Fair; people line up for over an hour!

Also, I appreciated the talk of butter sculpting. Drake (and others nearby) have undoubtedly seen the sculptures at the Minnesota State Fair: each Fair princess is sculpted successively and the art is put on a rotating display inside of a glass-enclosed, climate-controlled case.

If you don’t already know this song, check it out. It’s written by the great Peter Mayer, who hails from Stillwater, MN.
“Brown County Fair”: http://www.petermayer.net/music/