The Fair

I love the fair. Usually I like peace and quiet, but I really enjoy the chaos of a fair. Here in RI we have several fairs, all at the same fairgrounds. The one I like best is the Washington County Fair, because it brings back such fun memories. I have several friends who prefer the SRI fair, a smaller, quieter fair with just animal showmanship. They were really surprised, having started out at the SRI fair, when they saw the WA County fair. It's perhaps 3x as big, and a lot louder.

They didn't like it as much, and the goats they were showing didn't like it as much either.

Funnily enough, I don't like the Big-E... it's TOO big for me, and to impersonal, it seems. And I don't like the SRI fair because it's too small.

At the WA County fair they have little buildings, almost stands, with kitchens. All the granges pitch in and sell food.... hotdogs, hamburgers, clam chowder, onion rings, pizza. We have friends who sometimes help out at the FFA (Future Farmers of America) stand and sell.... PIES. They're nice and hot and bubbling. There's also a candy stand (right next to the ice cream stand), where you can buy candy. And other places they have sugary, sticky cotton-candy, and hot doughboys.

Of course, there are lots of animals as well. They always bring in a sow with a million piglets. They show cows, and you can go and see them and their calves. There are ornery pigs that have to be goaded into going the right direction. There are all types of goats, ones with long, floppy ears, and ones with strange fur. My personal favorite is the poultry barn, where they have all sorts of chickens, ducks, pigeons, and geese. There are the tiny chickens, tiny ducks, white ducks, big ducks, affero chickens, barred rock chickens, Americana chickens, and lots of cock-a-doodle-dooing roosters. Oh, and bunnies. Can't forget the bunnies. Last year I showed several of my chickens. Some of them I put in a cage and they were just judged, but I also did showmanship. That's more showing off how much YOU know rather than how nice the chicken looks. You have to know all of these parts...

Cutiepie (my ancient Barred-Rock hen), won a first place (in the class chickens are not judged against each other but a mythical "perfect chicken" in that breed. So many chickens can get first) in just the regular judging. And I won First Place Showmanship for my age division! (Not against the "perfect shower" apparently). I was really surprised, because this was the first time EVER that I had done showmanship. I got a big fancy ole' ribbon. Yay!

They have tons of little stall-thingies all around the fairgrounds, and they sell all sorts of cool junk and knick-knacks, dresses and clothes, caricatures, giant carved wood bears, etc. They have a part that is just dedicated to rides. They have a Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, swinging chairs, and other rides. These rides add an additional thrill; besides being spun upside down and sideways at great hights, there is also the anxiety that this year the rusty thing might finally fall apart. I'm thinking of maybe skipping the one that jolts and shudders and swings by a bolt this time...

I entered a bunch of stuff in the fair last year, clay figurenes, jewelry, chickens and photos. The first prize for a craft is just $5, but all in all I probably made around $100, with winning showmanship and all. My dad and I went back Sunday night to pick up the birds, crafts, and prizes. The line to pick up the stuff was really long, so we watched some of the competitions in a large ring they have.

There was dung-throwing, which was pretty amusing, and egg tosses and the like. That night they had tug-a-war, over a REAL MUD-FILLED PIT. It was pretty funny. Usually nobody fell in, but once in a while they did. A bunch of teenage girls played, and the first girl in the row fell in... and then the rest jumped in after her and threw mud and stuff. It was fun to watch. It was done by weight class, so it would be fair. Usually the teams would just saunter out into the ring, but a bunch of buff guys came out once running. They ran around the circle waving like they were about to fight a bull or had won the Olympics or something. Their team was called "The Bellerophons", or something like that. Bellerophon was a great hero of Greek mythology who killed the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster, for those of you who don't know. These guys we sooo funny, flexing their muscles and generally being big hams. My dad whispered, "Maybe they should have been called "The Narcissus's" instead." Narcissus was another Greek. He was astonishingly beautiful, and shunned every girl who liked him. Then he saw a face in a pool of water and fell in love with it-- he fell in love with his own reflection! He couldn't leave the pool and stop staring at himself and eventually died of starvation and dehydration. Anyways, it seems that "The Bellerophons" weren't "The Narcissus's", because they pulled the other team into the mud. *Snicker*.

Anyways, if you happen to visit RI around August... http://www.washingtoncountyfair-ri.com/index.php