Still Time For County Fairs, Country Stars, Food, & Demo Derbies!

There is a lot of county fair action that happens after mid-August in Upstate New York.  What was the county fair of your youth?  Mine was the Otsego County Fair in Morris, New York.

The fair was about 40 minutes from our hometown so it was a big deal to plan a visit to the Fair.  We loaded up my Dad's 9-passenger royal blue Country Squire station wagon and hit the road early to max our day in Morris (we had 10 in our family, so you do the math).

The gates opened early  so we piled out of the car and scurried all over the fair grounds before the big crowds came in.  We ventured into the animal exhibit hall, went on some rides (getting full use of our wristband!), and had lunch of fried dough and corn dogs.  Things really heated up (literally) in the afternoon as huge numbers of people poured through the front gate.  But, and I think this is true for everybody of all ages, the best part of the county fair happened at night.  The dazzling lights and sounds of the midway, the sausage-pepper-and-onion smell wafting out of the concession area, and all the fun in the grandstand.  For me the best part was the demolition derby.  What 10-year old boy didn't like that!

The fair closed with fireworks and we all trudged back to the car for the ride home.  We all held tight to our game prizes and souvenirs.  I know I did.  I had one of those leash-with-no-dog things, and I treasured it.

If you haven't hit up  a county fair by mid-August, here is a list of them (and others fairs) you can still get to up through Labor Day.

Like I said, everybody loves a county fair!