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Post by Village Idiot on Jun 21, 2023 16:49:53 GMT -5
The Benton County Fair started today and I walked through to verify that nothing has changed.
Teenage and younger girls in gym shorts and cowboy boots, guys in Wrangler jeans and belt buckles the size of dinner plates, all kinda dirty from tending animals all day, all stirring up the dust in groups of any size, all yapping about how they groomed their calf differently this year, all swearing that the meat goat judge guy is the same old fart when "my Dad used to bring goats to the fair" and all admitting that the Jackson Jolly Timers have the best 4H booth again. All torn on whether they are going to get their sandwich from the Benton County Cattlemen's Association or the Benton County Pork Producers.
Nothing has changed. Again. Which is what a lot of people complain about. But to those who complain, the Fair isn't for you. The Fair is for all those young folks who get one week a year to get into what they really love with a bunch of other kids who love the same way of life from all over the county. As I walked the loop a young pair passed me by and I heard the girl say to the guy "you look like you can show cattle". The guy straightened his shoulders a bit and walked with more of a strut as they settled in line for a funnel cake.
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Post by drlj on Jun 21, 2023 17:08:56 GMT -5
That is really good, Todd.
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Post by John B on Jun 21, 2023 17:10:05 GMT -5
Our fair starts on Friday, through next week. Since I will be in NYC for a chunk of that time, I don't think I'll attend. The kids are going on Saturday for "Midnight Madness" which I presume involves riding rides.
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Post by dradtke on Jun 21, 2023 17:10:26 GMT -5
Sounds like the county fair I used to go to - most likely indistinguishable if you dropped me blindfolded in the middle of either one. Not being a farm kid I never showed anything at the fair, but living just a few blocks from the fairgrounds we knew where the loose spots in the fence were so we could get in without a ticket.
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Post by Marshall on Jun 21, 2023 17:30:39 GMT -5
Sounds fair to me.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Jun 21, 2023 18:41:06 GMT -5
Sounds like the county fair I used to go to - most likely indistinguishable if you dropped me blindfolded in the middle of either one. Not being a farm kid I never showed anything at the fair, but living just a few blocks from the fairgrounds we knew where the loose spots in the fence were so we could get in without a ticket. I might or might not have shown something at the fair. Since juvenile records are sealed, you'll never know for sure or what I might have shown. |
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Post by Marty on Jun 21, 2023 18:47:27 GMT -5
When the kids were little we would take them to the Ramsey County Fair. They enjoyed it, even the 4H stuff, a hot dog, drink, ice cream and some popcorn. We rarely took them to the State Fair because it was major vacuum to your bank account. As they got older the County Fair became something for little kids and they only wanted the State Fair, all expensive food, drink and rides. We could get them to sit in the shade and listen to a band for a little while but then it was off to spend money again.
Now they can take themselves and do, they even take their Grandma. I would go but just can't do that much walking without a good sit down every once in a while. Plus I can't have fried cheese curds, funnel cake, chocolate chip cookies, deep fried Snickers bar and a few dozen other artery hardening delights. They also did away with all the free things we liked to see.
In 1988 just Cheri and I went to the State Fair and I went to the Tool Shack on Machinery Hill. This is where tractors and farm machinery was displayed. There I found a 3" machine square for $2. I still use that little tool to this day, one of the most used tools on my bench.
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Post by paleo on Jun 21, 2023 18:53:52 GMT -5
Ah, I snuck into the Todd County fair (Minnesota) many, many times. I won a lot of big stinky cigars ringing the bell, by hitting a flipper with a big hammer.
Craziest fair memory; it was in the early 60s, Minnesota state fair, 7 UP was giving out buttons that said "Wet and Wild". Some young ladies were pinning these buttons on the fly of their cut offs.
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Post by John B on Jun 21, 2023 19:33:17 GMT -5
I went to the Fairfax County VA fair in 2000, paid a couple of bucks to get in and saw Los Lobos put on a fantastic show.
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Dub
Administrator
I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
Posts: 19,904 
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Post by Dub on Jun 21, 2023 20:49:35 GMT -5
I think every county in Iowa, and probably the whole Midwest, has its own county fairgrounds. The county fairs are 4H fairs where show off their produce and livestock and get to interact with the other kids. The fact that they are “kids” doesn’t keep them from having world-class entries in the fairs. There is often a midway and some live entertainment but the whole point is kids and agriculture.
Fiddlerina and I first met at the Linn County (Iowa) fairgrounds which had been booked for the bluegrass festival we were both attending.
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