You don’t need to be a state to have a fair!  Don’t believe me, there are deep-fried Oreos and funnel cakes aplenty being served just 20ish miles over the border in Gaithersburg, Maryland.   The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is the quintessential fair – animals, foods, rides, and all the country a city boy could want!

Looking to take on a new hobby?  Stop and watch the intricacies of judging the perfect shorn sheep.  Trying to teach your children about child-birth?  Visit the birthing tent and see the miracle of life itself!  (Mind you, cows are the mothers at this fair!)  Want to get your pre-teen hooked on gambling?  Then the pig races are the place for you!  Opportunities and excitement abound!

I personally enjoy shoving grease-soaked carnival treats in my mouth while watching the rides.  The twirly ones make me nauseous…but I keep eating.  I like being heckled by the keepers of the game booths – an odd mix of surly older folks and those who could probably star in one of A&E‘s many reality shows.  No where else on earth can one get so excited to play a game for $2 and receive a cheap stuffed animal that will either meet the dog later that night or pass on to one of our nation’s many land-fills.

But wait, this is a food site…so let’s talk food.  Turkey legs, ice cream, cotton candy, sausage, lemonade…it’s not high-brow, but it’s darn tasty.  The stuff you know you shouldn’t eat and regret later. But while you’re chomping, heaven does indeed seem to be a place on earth!  And where else can you eat a hotdog in front of a pig?  Or a hamburger while staring a cow in the face.  There is a circle of life and it’s at the fair!

So, download some “Meet Me In St. Louis” and get out to the fair!  Eat something with the sweet smell of manure in the air.  Do it, if you dare!  You may even see a mare.  Ok, enough already.  Montgomery County may not be a state yet, but we sure do love our farms and support our 4-H!

AEK

[ad][ad]