The Mississippi State Fair is always in October, and thank God: it’s too hot here to go in the summer! And we go every year. This year, I’ll be able to save one expense: they always have electric carts for rent, and I won’t need one!
County fairs! Fresh roasted peanuts, the sounds of hot-rod engines revving, kettle-corn in huge bags, free DARE pencils, along with 100 booths selling water purification systems, hot-tubs, and Jesus. Then there are the 4-H exibits, the Hot Air balloon rides and the local politician who has some new plan to lower your taxes if you’ll only vote for him.
Man, you ought to see those Hot Air balloons go…!
The TN State Fair is pretty lame (I was going to say “fairly lame”) but the Wilson County Fair is far larger, and rocks. I think it starts in two weeks. We’ll be there, at least one day. I’m hoping to make it to the demolition derby.
Would those be the “All Alaskan Racing Pigs” ?
I saw them at the Alameda County Fair last year. What a hoot! They pick kids out of the crowd to be cheerleaders for each of the pigs. Some of the kids got so excited I thought they would hyperventilate and pass out! 
Several county fairs but I usually reserve my “state” effort for the farm show. What can I say? I’m hooked on tractor square-dancing.
The Other Shoe and I will no doubt attend the Texas State Fair again this year. It’s a lot of fun and fried food. However, the OP asked for “this summer” and the TX Fair is in October, because it’s hotter’n’shit right now. (High of 104 F today. Not the heat index, just the actual temp. That’s “cooler” than last weekend.) It’s usually back into the high 80s during the day by the time they hold the fair, so that’s when we do it.
Big Tex! Pig racing! Deep fried <too many things to list>! Statues carved out of butter! A petting zoo! Cotton candy! And then … some Tums.
I haven’t been to a fair in forever! I don’t guess I would want to go every year, but maybe just for nostalgia, I should go this year. (But it is always better with someone.)
I was in 4-H for years with my horses, and I still love to go to the local county fairs (which run from mid June to September.) But as far as the Michigan state fair. It’s a no-go. Michigan’s so broke, the state fair has been canceled this year. =(
Heh. Sure, I’m going to a fair. My band plays at a few fairs a year. We played the Riverside County Fair and International Date Festival last February. It’s in Indio, Ca, near Palm Springs. Ten days in Palm Springs in February AND getting paid. WooHoo!
We’re playing at my hometown fair next week, the Napa Town and Country Fair. Not a great, big fair, but usually they have good headliners. We’ve had the Yellowjackets play, two years ago we had Manhattan Transfer. Nothing great this year, though. Well, MY band, but we don’t headline. We’re “strolling entertainment”, meaning we wander around and find a shady spot to play.
Fun thing about working at fairs- our friends on the fair circuit are the other entertainers: clowns, mimes, magicians. One of our friends does a flea circus.
Just don’r call us carnies. We don’t work for the carnival, we work for the fair. I guess that makes us “fairies”.
I love a good fair. Sometimes the smallest ones are the best. Last May we did the Salinas Valley Fair in King City, CA. Small town, wonderful friendly people. Their livestock auction brings in around 1.5 million dollars. In a town of about 15,000 people.
In Minnesota, the State Fair is run by a separate board, independent of the State. And they have run it well enough that the State Fair is more solvent than the State of Minnesota! (And this despite a change a few years back when our corrupt governor Pawlenty stole 6.5% of the revenue from the State Fair for the state’s coffers, instead of going to the Fair.)
I’ll be working at the Kentucky State Fair for part of it. We run a blood drive there.
I’ve been wanted to go to one of the “big ones” like Iowa or Illinois for ages. It’s kind of an extremely dorky dream of mine.
I’ve been to lots of county fairs, and they’re fun, but I’m ready for the big time.
Make your dorky dream come true! I was inspired to visit the Iowa State Fair because of a thread here about “food on a stick”(or something like that). I was headed to Chicago that summer and planned my road trip so that I could spend a couple of days in Des Moines. I had a ***great ***time at the fair. If you go, you absolutely have to try a pork chop on a stick!
This is what I was going to say. Not to mention that Wilson County Fair is about six blocks from where I live. This year, I’ll be there at least three days: one just to hang out, one during the extension exhibits and one to help staff the booth for my political party.
Our county fair rocks! See you there, Skammer!
(warning: sound)
the NC state fair is too expensive. You pay a few dollars to get in, but then you have to pay for tickets for every ride
at the country fair you pay more to get in maybe 10-15$ but you get to ride every ride without paying more.
State Fair? No.
States Fair? Hell yes. I’ll be going to the Big E in September and I can’t wait.
Not me, but my sister is going to the Wisconsin State Fair, and she E-mailed me their “food on a stick” list. It… frightens and intrigues me. How in the world do you get “Irish Stew” on a stick? I do know that the “spaghetti and meatballs” are actually a couple big meatballs stuffed with spaghetti.
I’m going to the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup next month. Going to see Queensryche in concert. I just need to find someone to take with me, I have 2 tickets.
The Maryland state fair is pretty crappy from what I’ve heard, though I’ve never been.
I am going to the Montgomery county fair in a couple of weeks, though. Cheese carving contest!
I haven’t been to the CA state fair in several years despite living in Sacramento.
The main reason is that until this year my son was already in school when it was happening and it’s just too darn crowded on the weekends. This year they moved it from mid-August through Labor Day to the last two weeks in July and it’s just too hot to go wandering around outside that time of year.