County fairs are synonymous with summer, and fun. County fairs have a long history, going back to the middle ages, and they have been a part of this country for generations. They started with people gathering to celebrate the harvest, and display their agricultural wares, and have since grown to include amusement rides, performing arts shows, games, and some of the most delicious (least healthy) food that can be found anywhere!

Fairs are also great places to celebrate special occasions if you are looking for a venue that doesn’t necessarily come to mind when you think of a party. I think that a fair would be a great place to host a birthday party. (Sadly none of my kids birthdays sync up with county fair season.) The price of admission is generally very reasonable, there are tons of activities available, and many fairs and festivals even offer a “pay one price and ride all day” option. We recently got the opportunity to visit the county fair that I grew up attending, the Jackson County Fair and Flower Festival, in Jackson, MI. We try to go, as a family every year, and always have a great time!

We usually start off by going through the livestock barns. There is a huge variety of animals to be found at the fair, representing all of the animals that can be found on working farms, today. These animals are usually raised by 4-H members, from the time they are born. (For those of you unfamiliar with 4-H, it is a youth organization designed to foster community and leadership, with the “four h’s - head, heart, hands, and health. It seeks to encourage development and growth through experiential learning, in a number of fields, animal husbandry being one of the most widely recognized. ) These animals are reared and cared for by kids of all ages, and shown at the fair, where they are judged in shows, and then in some cases, auctioned off to new owners. It is always impressive to see the level of investment and devotion that goes into the care of these animals. The kids who bring the animals to the fair are always eager to introduce you to their livestock, and to tell you about the breed, their care, etc.

During our visit, we checked out cows, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, and horses.  There were also more varieties of chickens than I knew existed, turkeys, and geese. We visited the draft horse barn and saw Belgians, and Clydesdales that were so enormous we could hardly believe our eyes. These horses stand anywhere from 16-19 hands high (around six and a half feet tall at the shoulder) and are pure power. They have been bred to pull heavy farm equipment and wagons, and their hooves were bigger than our heads. Truly amazing stuff!  One of our favorite barns to visit was the birthing barn. Even though most farm animals are born in springtime, there are always a few brand new ones that can be seen. We got go see day-old lambs and baby goats, some fluffy baby chicks, and cute pink piglets that were a scant few hours old! It was fascinating, but also a lot of fun, especially for the kids!

After the animal barns we took time to visit the exhibition hall, and see crafts, and projects that represent thousands of hours of work. Some of these projects like homebaked goods, handmade quilts, and preserved jams and jellies represent a mostly bygone era, where everything that you used in the home, you mostly made yourself. Others, like photography, painting, sculpture and floriculture show off people’s hobbies  and pastimes that they enjoy, and want to share with others. There are long tables lined up with vegetables that people have grown in their gardens, and all of the items in the exhibition hall are entered into competition, judged, and awarded prizes for the best entries. I was absolutely delighted at how many entries by teenagers there were, and I am trying to forget how many of them were themed around Twilight – Edward and Bella cakes, Bella and Jacob paintings, screen-printed Edward and Jacob jean jackets, etc. You get the idea. Sigh.

Of course midway rides, games, and attractions are a huge part of spending a day at the fair. Most fairs and carnivals have rides to suit people of all ages.  There is always a kiddie section with carousels, slow-moving cars, and airplanes that gently lift toddlers, and pre-schoolers into the air, while their parents wave and take pictures. For those a little older, and braver, there are rides that whip you around with g-forces not usually found outside of amusement parks, and turn you upside-down, while blasting hard rock music that gets your pulse pounding. Full disclosure, I did not ride any of these, because at some point in time, since I became a mother, I have apparently morphed into a huge weenie. I look at The Scrambler and get a little green around the gills, and I don’t even want to talk about the giant Nascar-themed ride that takes you both backwards and upside-down. I will happily remain with feet planted on the ground, taking pictures and holding jackets!

And oh, the food… Let’s not forget the fair food. Our local fair had vendors that sold every kind of food that you could possibly imagine, all of it fried. Some of it was fried, then dipped into something else, and then fried again. We enjoyed corn dogs, french fries with salt and vinegar, and sweet, icy, hand-squeezed lemonade. I would have taken pictures of our elephant ear and funnel cake dessert, but the ravening horde that is known as my family jumped on it and devoured it before I got the chance. Now, I certainly don’t advocate eating like this all of the time, or even more than once in a great while. You could try really hard, and maybe find something that is healthier, but really, why would you? (If you really don’t want it, or have physical concerns that make healthy eating, mandatory, then you could always pack a cooler full of sandwiches, juice, and fresh fruit.) But when I am at the fair, I am eating food that is fried, and preferably on a stick, the way God and our founding fathers intended.

While we were at the fair, we had the opportunity to see American living legend, and national treasure: country-music icon, Willie Nelson! He was of course, amazing, and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. At one point, Willie gave a disabled young man who was a veteran, one of his trademark bandana headbands, and the crowd applauded for several minutes straight. Despite being 78 years old, Willie played a two hour show, and looked twenty years younger than his actual age. Must be all of those years of clean living! (Wink wink, nudge nudge.) At fairs all over the country, you can find big-name musical groups, monster truck shows, and other exciting acts to enjoy!

By the time we left, the lights of the midway were shining brightly, and the kids were thoroughly exhausted (but would have stayed for hours more, if we had given them the option.) The fairgrounds were still full of people, having fun, playing games, risking their lives (not really) on rides that flung them hither and yon at death-defying speeds. Anyone who has not had a chance to attend one of these quintessentially American events, should do so, before summer is over! You will not be disappointed, and neither will any of the people that you go with!

Tracy Maher is a party planning guru and director of marketing for DiscountPartySupplies.com. She has a husband, three children, and a cat that should be registered as a lethal weapon. She throws many parties, mainly as an excuse to cook (and eat) a lot of food!