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Post by vspindler on Jul 21, 2023 3:02:04 GMT
My fair I mean where people are showing animals, different kinds of projects/hobbies, along with a carnival, fair food, music, etc?
My local county fair is this weekend. The only people who can enter items for judging are kids in 4-H and FFA. It makes me sad to see how diminished it is from when I was a kid in 4-H. It makes me wonder if they shouldn’t open judging to adults or kids not in 4-H simply because the county has become so urban and suburban. It could get people more vested in the fair itself. How does your local fair handle entries? Have you enter anything as an adult?
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Post by Lurkingpea on Jul 21, 2023 3:19:26 GMT
I go to ours; I like the food and photography exhibits. They have a special part that is 4H only. That is where they have fruit and vegetable scu;putrescence that are fun to look at and some animals. Usually bunnies and chickens. We really enjoy the fair.
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Post by Merge on Jul 21, 2023 3:20:01 GMT
I think the equivalent here would be the Houston rodeo. We go some years if there’s a performer we want to see, or lately, if DH gets an invite to one of the BBQ tents. It’s a huge cluster and not my favorite thing. The livestock and “fair” type stuff are def not the main event.
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Post by Linda on Jul 21, 2023 3:21:58 GMT
we have gone to our local county fair but it's not an annual thing for us - Dh goes more often than I have. I honestly have no idea about who can enter items
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Post by ntsf on Jul 21, 2023 3:29:31 GMT
we don't have a county fair.. I have been to a traditional fair a few times, but I don't go out of my way to go.
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pantsonfire
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Post by pantsonfire on Jul 21, 2023 3:37:39 GMT
No. Never have. Not remotely close and have zero desire to go to my county's fair.
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Post by cmpeter on Jul 21, 2023 3:41:49 GMT
Every couple of years. It can be kitschy and fun.
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Post by Minnesota*Mom on Jul 21, 2023 3:42:07 GMT
I have attended county fairs in my state over the years. The 4-H group usually has its own building for showing items. I believe people not in 4-H can enter in several categories unrelated to the 4-H ones (baking, canning, various craft projects, etc). I have not ever entered anything myself but enjoy looking at the entries.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 21, 2023 3:43:10 GMT
We did in our old town. Every year. I even entered my pralines and pecan pie and got some ribbons. DS's K-8th school was heavy into 4-H and one of his classmates' family owns a big ranch along the freeway so we would visit with them at the fair and look at all the animals. Fun times. ETA: The county fairground was literally several miles from our house ~ we could actually walk there if we wanted to ~ but who wants to.
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ellen
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Post by ellen on Jul 21, 2023 4:05:30 GMT
The last time I went to the fair I said I was never going back and I haven’t. I hate our local fair. I’d be willing to go to a different one. I grew up in a rural area. I was active in 4-H and really enjoyed exhibiting items and showing cattle at the fair.
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Post by cawoman on Jul 21, 2023 4:27:39 GMT
We went to opening night at our local (state) fair last night. I had fun. The grounds are pretty. I like walking around, tasting some of the food (wasn't impressed really) and people watching. This fair has top name entertainment. We didn't buy any tickets this year. Their carnival area (Nope, no rides for me) is very clean, and colorful. It's a very popular event!
Edited to add: Our fair does have a very large 4-H program. Others though can enter art, etc in another section of the fair. I have not entered anything.
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paget
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Jul 21, 2023 5:04:00 GMT
Yes I love the fair. I like to see the animals, the exhibits and Booths and of course the fair food. We’ll watch some events too - mostly live music.
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Post by katlady on Jul 21, 2023 5:05:12 GMT
We go sporadically. I’ve been to the LA County Fair. That one is huge! But, it is out in Pomona in September, which means it is super hot! We have also been to the Orange County Fair. That one is small and we haven’t been back. The San Diego County Fair is a nice medium size. Not too overwhelming and not too small.
We are city people, so we don’t go for the 4H events. When the kids were young, they liked to look at the animals, but we knew nothing about how they were entered or judged. I like to look at the arts and crafts. And I browse through the shopping area to see what innovative new gadget I don’t need. Lol! I don’t go on the rides, but the boys loved it. Oh, the only ride I go on is the ski lift type one that gives you a Birds Eye view of everything.
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Post by Neisey on Jul 21, 2023 8:33:24 GMT
When we lived in an area with an agricultural fair we absolutely attended and participated. All the neighbor kids were kept busy getting their entries ready the week leading up to the fair (from drawing pictures, creating crafts, baking, etc.) and everyone always won enough money to make it well worth their while. I also participated in photography, scrapbooking and a few other crafty categories.
It was always fun to wander the exhibit barns and see the creativity, drool over the baking, etc.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jul 21, 2023 9:01:07 GMT
We do go to the fair. But we go to the one in the county we grew up in. It's about a 45 minute drive. That fair has everything. I wished I lived in that county because I would enter some of my yarn crafts. I've seen some of the winners (the hobby entries are my favorite part) and my creations definitely rival some of the winners.
My county fair is much smaller (but I am pretty urban) and they don't allow anyone but 4-H kids to enter anything. They also don't have near the food, rides, or animals. We enjoy looking at the animals too.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 21, 2023 10:11:10 GMT
My urban county does have a county fair every summer in August, but it's not like the agricultural fair I grew up going to in Pennsylvania. That one had all the animals, tractor pulls, calf roping, all the vegetable/preserves/pie judging, etc., etc. I loved it when I was a kid although probably I wouldn't like it as much now. But our urban one is very different from that. It's held at a local community center. All the carnival rides and games, and the food, are outside. They also have pony rides for kids, and there is usually some sort of other animal thing...for a few years we had several dairy cows from from a local farm and they exhibit was set up to teach us about dairy farming. Sometimes we've had goats from a goat farm for the same type of teaching exhibit. They also use part of the outside area for rotating demonstrations -- there are always police K-9 units who set up searches for the dog, or demonstrations of the dog catching a bad guy, etc... Always very popular with the kids. And me! I love seeing the dogs in action. -- The fire department always has an area outside also where they have information and do demonstrations on just how fast certain things can catch fire. It was because of one of those demos that I stopped hanging a kitchen towel on the handle of my oven. Inside the building are some judged exhibits -- photography, crafts, a few with garden produce. My dd always entered the photography one in her age group. She enjoyed it. The rest of the space is filled with various vendors -- crafts, jewelry, bee keeping (honey, mmmm). Fire and police always have a table, and there's usually a food-sniffing beagle from the local airport...He's always a big hit and they do fun demonstrations where the police officer will give a piece of fruit to several people in the crowd watching, then the dog goes around and finds them all very quickly. lol. Anyway, it's pretty fun. I hate the rides area but of course when my kids were little we spent a lot of time there. If it wasn't a five-minute walk from my house I probably wouldn't even go now though. Actually, the best time to walk through there is in the morning before it opens. I loved walking my dog there and seeing all the trailers where the carnival employees live while they're traveling. I always get the urge to re-read "Water For Elephants". lol
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SweetieBsMom
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Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jul 21, 2023 11:21:29 GMT
I've been a couple of times. We have the Marshfield Fair in August. Then the Topsfield Fair in September. The Big E fair is in the Fall too. I haven't done the Big E but have done the other 2 when DS was small, he liked to go. Haven't been in years. I will say I don't think these fairs compare to the ones you have in the midwest.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Jul 21, 2023 11:34:57 GMT
My urban county does have a county fair every summer in August, but it's not like the agricultural fair I grew up going to in Pennsylvania. That one had all the animals, tractor pulls, calf roping, all the vegetable/preserves/pie judging, etc., etc. I loved it when I was a kid although probably I wouldn't like it as much now.But our urban one is very different from that. It's held at a local community center. All the carnival rides and games, and the food, are outside. They also have pony rides for kids, and there is usually some sort of other animal thing...for a few years we had several dairy cows from from a local farm and they exhibit was set up to teach us about dairy farming. Sometimes we've had goats from a goat farm for the same type of teaching exhibit. They also use part of the outside area for rotating demonstrations -- there are always police K-9 units who set up searches for the dog, or demonstrations of the dog catching a bad guy, etc... Always very popular with the kids. And me! I love seeing the dogs in action. -- The fire department always has an area outside also where they have information and do demonstrations on just how fast certain things can catch fire. It was because of one of those demos that I stopped hanging a kitchen towel on the handle of my oven. Inside the building are some judged exhibits -- photography, crafts, a few with garden produce. My dd always entered the photography one in her age group. She enjoyed it. The rest of the space is filled with various vendors -- crafts, jewelry, bee keeping (honey, mmmm). Fire and police always have a table, and there's usually a food-sniffing beagle from the local airport...He's always a big hit and they do fun demonstrations where the police officer will give a piece of fruit to several people in the crowd watching, then the dog goes around and finds them all very quickly. lol. This is what my county fair is, but they have carnival rides too (which I detest). I haven;t been to our fair for a while, maybe when DD was volunteering there for Girl Scouts. But my mom enters some of her baked goods and canned goods in her county fair, one county over, and my co-GS leader would often enter a cake. Lots of the things that we entered were from 4-H or from the schools. Our fair is usually the 3rd weekend of Sept. I think the state fair is in August, but that is (supposedly) not in a good area, so we never go.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 21, 2023 12:17:21 GMT
Since I don’t even know if we have a local one, my answer is obviously no. Out of curiosity, I googled and found there’s only 14 smaller fairs across this state of 46 counties. You can tell by the names some are regional. There are lots of little local rodeos because I see signs for them along the roadways.
There is a statewide fair in the fall and it’s a big deal for some people. I took my kids when they were little but have only been once since then and that was probably 13-14 years ago.
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Post by lisae on Jul 21, 2023 12:27:01 GMT
I was a teenager the last time I went. This got me curious as I haven't seen signs for a fair in a few years. I googled and it doesn't look like we have a county fair anymore. Surely there is some process for people to submit entries that would go onto the state fair. I don't know.
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Post by leannec on Jul 21, 2023 12:36:36 GMT
And I browse through the shopping area to see what innovative new gadget I don’t need. Lol! Ex and I came away from the exhibits area one year the proud owners of a hot tub! Our local fair here is major: The Calgary Stampede ... it draws in close to 1.5 million people. I went every year of my life up until Covid ... I've been there once since then because I had tickets to a show ... I love rodeo and we have a world class one so that was a draw for me ... When I was young the rides were a big thing and then again when I had kids we went for the rides ... our midway is excellent ... crowded though ... Now that my dd's are grown they go on their own. I'm thinking of buying rodeo tickets for next year so I might be going back!
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Post by Restless Spirit on Jul 21, 2023 12:40:12 GMT
Local county 4-H fair? No, not any more. We used to take our DD when she was young and then our grandson. It was mostly to look at the animals and get something to eat. It was an inexpensive, close by thing to do.
Our area has several festivals we do occasionally go to, but not every year. These festivals have arts, crafts and food. They start in May and go through September. I like the Apple festivals the best, but we only go every few years. The Johnny Appleseed festival is very crowded and it’s always too hot. Plus it’s always the same vendors over and over. No need to go more than once every four years.
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Post by idahomom on Jul 21, 2023 12:45:54 GMT
It would be fun to go again now that we have a grandson. But, the heat is too much, even for him. Today Boise is to hit 107 again.
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maryannscraps
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Post by maryannscraps on Jul 21, 2023 12:54:58 GMT
I've been a couple of times. We have the Marshfield Fair in August. Then the Topsfield Fair in September. The Big E fair is in the Fall too. I haven't done the Big E but have done the other 2 when DS was small, he liked to go. Haven't been in years. I will say I don't think these fairs compare to the ones you have in the midwest. We always go to the topsfield fair. I love all the exhibits. And my yearly fried dough. We usually ride our bikes there. It’s right on the rail trail. This fair started in 1820.
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pilcas
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Post by pilcas on Jul 21, 2023 13:00:45 GMT
Big city dweller here, no county fair here!
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Post by workingclassdog on Jul 21, 2023 13:05:13 GMT
I have been but haven't gone in a long time. It was fun to take the kids when they were little. I really don't have much interest now. It's usually so hot and I hate being hot.
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SweetieBsMom
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jul 21, 2023 13:15:51 GMT
I've been a couple of times. We have the Marshfield Fair in August. Then the Topsfield Fair in September. The Big E fair is in the Fall too. I haven't done the Big E but have done the other 2 when DS was small, he liked to go. Haven't been in years. I will say I don't think these fairs compare to the ones you have in the midwest. We always go to the topsfield fair. I love all the exhibits. And my yearly fried dough. We usually ride our bikes there. It’s right on the rail trail. This fair started in 1820. That's awesome you can ride your bikes there! Topsfield is about 1.5-2 hour ride for me by car. The last time we went, there was an issue with the bee hives and there were bees EVERYWHERE. That was the last time we went DS loved the model train exhibit, we would sit there for hours. A guy came up to me and we started talking and he told me about the Amherst Society train show in January every year (pick a worse month!) at the Big E fair grounds. We started doing that instead of Topsfield.
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Post by bossymom on Jul 21, 2023 13:32:54 GMT
My county has one each year. I have zero interest in going. It draws almost a million in attendance and runs for 12 days. It's a big deal for those that like that sort of thing.
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breetheflea
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Post by breetheflea on Jul 21, 2023 13:48:06 GMT
I live pretty close to our county fair and it's fun but after paying $8 to park, $12 admission (times six people), $37 per ride bracelet (for four kids because who goes to the fair and doesn't let their kids ride the rides?) and whatever atrocious price they are charging for food, it would cost over $300 As far as I know (from the last time I attended) anyone can enter the food contests, and the art show, I'm not sure about the 4-H.
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Post by peano on Jul 21, 2023 14:16:12 GMT
When DS was small, we took him to a fair up the road to watch the tractor pull and sheepdog demonstration. There's another major fair north of us in Litchfield county that we also liked, because of the huge variety of animals--multitudes of interesting chicken and cattle breeds. Our playgroup went together to the Big E, the major fair in Massachusetts. The kids rode an elephant (of course now, I would never allow it, even if they still used elephants for entertainment.)
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