|
Post by paulao on Jul 21, 2023 14:16:32 GMT
I would love to go to my county or state fair but none of my friends will go with me and a fair is best experienced with friends. I like rides and junk food!
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Jul 21, 2023 15:12:18 GMT
My local fair is the State Fair of Texas.
PreCovid we went every year. However, I/we never go to the midway and rides but spend the time at the exhibits. We skip the animal exhibits and visit "The Women's Building" where crafts from quilts to photography are displayed. I also visit the commercial exhibits (vacuum cleaners, vacations, recliners etc). When my son was young he (and all school children in the surrounding area) got a free ticket to the fair. I always had Columbus Day off from work, so he and I went. We enjoyed the famous corn dog there, had a Belgium waffle as a treat and came home. I only had to spend money on the food. Now that I am a Senior citizen, there is a day when we get in free and there are free trolleys to take us around the grounds and eliminate all the walking. I can catch the public light rail within 2 miles of my home and it drops us at the gate to the fair.
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Jul 21, 2023 15:17:13 GMT
I was a farm child and we always attended the local county fair. I, or my siblings, had entries in the fair (animals, jams/jellies or sewing). We wanted to see what ribbon had been won as well as what other entries were. My parents always taught us that the hucksters in the Midway were hucksters and to stay away. I once observed a friend lose lots of money. Our county fair was held in October. I don't know why that date was picked, perhaps because by October all the crops were harvested as well as the hay in the barns.
|
|
TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 2,846
Member is Online
Jun 26, 2014 17:25:06 GMT
|
Post by TXMary on Jul 21, 2023 16:01:52 GMT
When I was young, the fair was at the ag barns at the high school. I'm not even sure those barns are there anymore. Probably not since everything moved to the big Expo Center. It's now called the FHA Youth Fair and Rodeo and is apparently connected to the 4th of July parade and rodeo which is a HUGE deal around here. I haven't been in many years. It's fun to go. I just don't have any connection to it anymore.
|
|
|
Post by epeanymous on Jul 21, 2023 16:10:45 GMT
I avoided the one here for sixteen years and my kids guilted me into going this fall. More crowded than and more expensive than Disney for the rides. That was it for me!
|
|
|
Post by stormsts on Jul 21, 2023 16:11:00 GMT
Our County 4-H Fair starts tonight and runs all next week.
DH was a 10 year 4-H member showing cattle. I was not in it all 10 years but I did participate in photography. All 3 of our kids were 10 year members as well. I now have 2 grandsons that show pigs. So, yes, we will be there multiple days.
Our State Fair starts mid August and we will go to see the grandsons show there as well.
We do have a division for adults to enter projects.
|
|
|
Post by Lexica on Jul 21, 2023 16:23:18 GMT
I went to the fair in California every year. My side job was taking the meeting minutes on my steno machine for the city where the fair was held and they would pass out fair tickets to some people. I always got free tickets but I would have paid to go because I enjoyed it so much. The tickets were always in pairs and I usually took my fiancé. He always complained about going even though he loved looking at the photography and art exhibits and looked forward to fair foods.
After we split, I just used the second ticket and went to the fair twice. And I found out that he made the woman that he dated after me go to the fair with him. That cracked me up.
I have no idea what the age rules were for exhibiting the animals. I didn’t spend too much time in that area of the fair because I am extremely allergic to most of the animals being shown and despite taking extra medication, I would have to leave the area when I couldn’t breathe. I did love looking at them. Especially when there were new babies in with the mothers.
I know the other exhibits were both adults and kids. They had the usual food items and table scapes along with various hobbies from knitting to woodworking.
I saw a sign off the freeway for the fair in Salem when I was heading to my new doctor’s office. I will have to look into the dates that it is open.
added:
I just googled to learn about fair dates. We have two fairs held in Salem. There is the county fair that has already been held earlier this month. It looks like they have animals, rides, and fair foods. Also some entertainment.
Then the Oregon state fair is also held at the same location in Salem. That is coming up in August! I will be going to that, even if I have to go by myself. And they have a senior discount where the entrance fee is only $1! That is surprising, but welcomed! State fairs are typically much bigger than county fairs and this one runs for two weeks. The smaller county fair was only 3 days. I think the county fair near me in California ran for the entire month.
|
|
|
Post by finsup on Jul 21, 2023 16:36:33 GMT
The fair in my hometown is such a big deal that we actually got a day off school during fair week!
|
|
|
Post by alsomsknit on Jul 21, 2023 16:44:37 GMT
Have in the past. Can no longer manage being among crowds and the noise.
|
|
|
Post by danalz on Jul 21, 2023 17:00:34 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? I think we live in the same county and I haven't been to that fair in years. While I enjoy looking at the exhibits, the whole experience is very expensive and I'd rather spend my money on other things. I used to enter photos in the WI State Fair (many years ago) and won a few ribbons. They would hold the judging a few weeks before the fair and it was an all day thing. I'd pack a lunch and watch them judge all of the photos. I learned a lot about photography and what they were looking for in a good photo.
|
|
|
Post by myshelly on Jul 21, 2023 17:04:09 GMT
My local fair is the State Fair of Texas.
It’s huge. We go every year.
Anyone can enter projects for judging and display. I have tons of friends who enter every year and I enjoy finding their names and creations in the fine arts buildings. I don’t enter because I just don’t like the idea of working so hard on something and then not having it in my possession for such a long period of time. I would stress out too much about not getting it back or it getting damaged.
We enjoy the shopping at our fair. There’s concerts, a car show, an aquarium, a butterfly garden, a children’s circus, museums, marionette theater, food samples, rides, a parade, fireworks, greenhouses, and more I’m sure I’m not thinking of. Oh and all the animal showing and stuff, but we don’t like/do that.
|
|
|
Post by myshelly on Jul 21, 2023 17:06:40 GMT
My local fair is the State Fair of Texas. PreCovid we went every year. However, I/we never go to the midway and rides but spend the time at the exhibits. We skip the animal exhibits and visit "The Women's Building" where crafts from quilts to photography are displayed. I also visit the commercial exhibits (vacuum cleaners, vacations, recliners etc). When my son was young he (and all school children in the surrounding area) got a free ticket to the fair. I always had Columbus Day off from work, so he and I went. We enjoyed the famous corn dog there, had a Belgium waffle as a treat and came home. I only had to spend money on the food. Now that I am a Senior citizen, there is a day when we get in free and there are free trolleys to take us around the grounds and eliminate all the walking. I can catch the public light rail within 2 miles of my home and it drops us at the gate to the fair. I have gone to the state fair of Texas every year of my life and have never heard anyone call that “the women’s building.” The map, website, and guide book all have it labeled as “creative arts” building.
|
|
chendra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
Location: The 33rd State
Jun 27, 2014 16:58:50 GMT
|
Post by chendra on Jul 21, 2023 17:15:09 GMT
I used to work an admin job for our county fair (San Diego, but it was called the Del Mar Fair in the 80's) every summer on my college break.
It was one of the strangest, yet most entertaining jobs I have ever had, and since I was there every day for a month, I had time to see everything, try most of the food, revisit what I liked best, and hear about all of the behind the scenes scandals. I really need to write down some of the things that happened before I forget. (And I cannot smell cinnamon rolls without becoming nauseated, much less eat one, because my office was near a cinnamon roll stand and I had to smell them all day, every day.)
The exhibitors, concessionaires and "midway personnel" (we weren't allowed to refer to them as carnies) had such interesting life stories!
But to answer your question, no! I haven't been to a fair since then. Guess I got it out of my system. 😄 Honestly, I think because it's always so dang hot at state fair time where I live now and the county fair is tiny.
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Jul 21, 2023 19:03:25 GMT
I knew the name had changed, but could not remember the correct name now. I wonder where I picked up that name. I never attended the state fair until 1972.
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Jul 21, 2023 19:07:33 GMT
Went searching and found this:
Here is a post card of the way the building looked at one time.
|
|
|
Post by myshelly on Jul 21, 2023 19:45:35 GMT
Went searching and found this:
Here is a post card of the way the building looked at one time.
That’s a different building, though. It’s at Fair Park, but it’s separate from the Creative Arts building.
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Jul 21, 2023 19:54:03 GMT
Went searching and found this:
Here is a post card of the way the building looked at one time.
That’s a different building, though. It’s at Fair Park, but it’s separate from the Creative Arts building. Duh, 2 different buildings. I visit both.
|
|
|
Post by mymindseyedpea on Jul 21, 2023 20:05:10 GMT
I have in the past. Especially the year they had Collective Soul in concert. Not anymore though. It’s the California State Fair and it’s too crowded and not the safest place to be.
|
|