The Magic of a County Fair
Oh my, how I loved the fair when I was growing up.
It was so magical when it was time for our little county fair. It was normally a week, and it meant that I was going to be busy showing my lambs and horses while hanging out with all my friends.
The fair symbolized summer! It was full of happy people, laughter, and fun chaos.
I have so many memories of the fair from when I was young. Winning Grand Champion with my lamb, watching my dad in the rodeo, feeling a bit independent as my parents let me walk the midway with my friends and eating some incredible food.
One of my funniest memories of the fair was one summer when Anne and I were about 12 years old. My father was a team roper, and he always roped in the rodeo that went along with the fair. On the night of the rodeo, my father gave Anne and me twenty dollars for food while he was getting his horse ready to rope. After he was finished roping, Anne and I met him back at the horse trailer to help him. He was busy unsaddling his horse and didn’t even look up when he said “What did you girls find to eat?” We said, “look what we got!” while holding two bunny rabbits and four goldfish. We had spent his twenty dollars on games that give away animals as prizes (they probably don’t do this anymore but it was a big thing when we were young). HA! My father was not happy, as you can imagine. Anne and I went home hungry that night, but we had some new animals to play with and were smiling from ear to ear. 🙂
Even though we went home hungry that evening, that was a rarity because the food at the fair was always a big deal! I don’t know about you, but my mom didn’t make a lot of cotton candy and funnel cakes. The fair was where we got all those yummy treats.
I always thought it was great that all the local clubs and associations had their specialties. The beef producers always sold burgers, and the pork producers always had a great pork tenderloin sandwich. The fish and wildlife producers had a trout sandwich. Then, you had lemon shake-ups, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and cotton candy. I wanted all of it.
The rides, the food, the animals, and the people—the fair had it all. You can’t forget about the local cooks showing off their best recipes. You had cakes, cookies, pies, etc. It was wonderful to see what cake was going to win the blue ribbon each year. You always had your local ladies who were in the top year after year.
Nothing makes us feel young again like a funnel cake or cotton candy. The sound of the demolition derby, watching the greased pig contest, and hearing the laughter of little kids on the teacup rides….it’s all there, and it’s all fun.
It was a place of excitement with bright lights, fried food, humidity, good music, laughter, and friends. Fair magic just hits differently!
We asked our audience what special food memories they have from the fair.
“We would attend the Ohio State Fair. Bob Evans had a stand there. They made sausage patties that fit the hamburger buns and cooked them over a grill. And corn on the cob.” -Bob Garrett
“I lived for our state fair! Because I loved elephant ears with powder sugar!!!! I hated when I had to share them with my sisters.” -Karen Hagopian
“My favorite memory is eating crispy French fries covered in vinegar and salt!”-Kristen
“My parents gave my brother and me $5 to spend at the fair every year. We could ride all the rides and eat. My parents would play bingo while we rode all the rides. My favorite was the candy apples. I had to have one before we went home. Wonderful memories!”-Sharon Hughes
“Here in Selma, AL, we had the Central Alabama Fair, sponsored by the Selma Lions Club, for many years. Various other civic clubs had booths, and my all-time favorite was the Kiwanis Club booth (I think it was). They’d get the guys with the loudest voices to hawk their delicious Cosy Dawgs! YUM!”-Frances Hughes
“I grew up in Rhode Island and for my family, at the fair, the must-have food was clam cakes. Deep-fried and full of chopped clams. It was a big treat because my mom didn’t cook anything fried”.-MaryEllen Johnson
“I grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, and went to the fair every year with my family. My favorite thing to eat then was a bowl of pinto beans with onions and cornbread. I think a church was the vendor. You never see that anymore at fairs, but it used to be a staple of fair food.” -Bethany Hagan
“When I was 13…I liked a guy that was in FFA. He grew yellow summer squash and had entered it in the fair. He took me there for my very first date. Needless to say, I ate a lot of squash that year as he brought it to me every week. I still love yellow squash…and luckily, he still loves me. But he won’t eat squash. Haha.”-Nancy Roach
“I didn’t go to fairs until I had kids and we had moved to a small rural town (town of 2000 in a county of 13000). We had a fair and rodeo. All of our favorites were the curly fries and elephant ears, but most of all was the local huckleberry ice cream! In the farthest northeast corner of Washington state, bordering north Idaho, huckleberries are a prized find.” -Laura Berg
“Amish ham and cheese sandwiches from the York Fair in York PA. The ham and cheese were sliced very thin and piled high onto a delicious roll. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!”-Wendy Schnetzka
“Oh, I do have a sweet food memory. How could I forget tasting cotton candy for the first time! I thought that was the best, stickiest, sweetest thing I had ever, ever tasted. And that’s an old memory…I’m 84. I grew up in Concord, NC (Cabarrus Country) which was the best place ever to grow up.” -Carolyn Monahan
“I remember when I was a little girl, only 5 years old. My mother took my brother and me to the carnival, where I stood in front of the food trailer and watched them make corn dogs! I watched them put the giant hotdog onto the stick and dunk it into the batter and then into the fryer. It was the best corn dog I have ever eaten, nothing has ever compared to that!! And I’m 61!! Best memories of a fair!!”-Darlene Pinales
You may also enjoy our readers’ Summer food memories!
