For one week each summer, our local county fair brings folks out by the carload.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Just outside of town at the official fairgrounds, the gates opened at 6:00pm for the county fair. Beauty pageants were held first.
Over at the stables, riders warmed up. You could get your boots or hat branded by a blacksmith.
It was a short wait for the rodeo to start. Little cowpokes were anxious for their turn to ride calves or chase sheep.
As twilight loomed, it was time to head for the midway to peruse the food, games, and rides.
Just yesterday those carnival rides were on the back of a truck cruising down the highway. Something to keep in mind if you’re chicken like me.
One final ice cream cone and it was time to head home.
The local county fair – once a year. That’s enough for me!
Discover more from The Flying Mantis
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
4 comments
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a county fair but I do have a vague memory of walking through one of the fairgrounds barns and seeing (and smelling — eww! — city girl here) the animals but I don’t remember any midway sort of stuff. Could be we simply didn’t visit that part. My dad had spent his summers on his uncle’s farm while growing up, so maybe he thought the animals were the best part. And I must have been in early grade school to just have a glimpse of sheep and hogs in my memory banks.
The midway used to be the seedy section of the fair, with hoochie-coochie girls and all the rigged games designed to separate you from your money. So Pop probably spared you from the witnessing the ugly underbelly of carnival life.
Looks fun enough to revisit again. I don’t even remember how many years have gone by since I last visted a fair. To be a kid again 🙂
It’s a cheap date night!