All of the families walking the streets of Bethesda were talking about it. The old guys in line at the bagel shop were excited. Even the Washington Post dedicated a whole section to discuss it. It's fair season, and the 63rd Annual Montgomery County Agricultural fair was not to be missed!
I've been going to fairs all my life. I have lots of fun memories as a kid being addicted to the impossible carnival games, riding gut-wrenching upside-down rides and stuffing myself with sickening fried food. I loved seeing the animals and staring at the beautiful produce. I've been to tons of fairs, from the famous Puyallup fair in Washington to the ever classic New York State Fair in Syracuse. So when I heard talk of a fair here in DC, I knew I had to go!
Saturday was the last day of the fair and Jason had the day off, so when a bright and sunny day arrived we set off for the fair grounds. The fair was in Gaithersburg, about a 40 minutes' drive from my house, and we got there at a perfect time in the early evening when the scorching hot of the day was past and the sun was beginning to set.
My first priority is always to visit the animal barns, so we took a lap around the grounds and arrived at the rows of stalls. Sheep, goats, cows, pigs, horses, even a barn full of fancy chicken breeds were all there to see and pet (and...smell.) We definitely ran into the Mongomery County Beekeepers' Association and of course I had to stop and talk about my dad's honey with them. We gobbled some fried dough and went on some silly rides. I felt like a little kid!
The fair was just the happiest place for a beautiful Saturday afternoon. There was live music and demonstrations, and little kids bounced everywhere eating cotton candy and holding - joy of joys - helium balloons, or better yet, some silly stuffed animal or glowing toy someone won for them. Community churches sold ice cream and cookies and turkey legs and ethnic food. You could find anything you wanted to eat or drink! We saw a guy swallow a sword and watched a pig race. Seriously, is there anything more carefree and ridiculous than watching a pig race?
As the afternoon faded to evening, Jason and I moved towards the game booths and tried our hand at winning some prizes. I had my eyes set on the goldfish booth, where the game was tossing a ping pong ball into one of many tiny fishbowls. On my very last shot, I sunk a ping-pong ball and won a fish! We took our prize and headed towards the last amusement of the night: The Ferris wheel.
Ending the night with the Ferris wheel was a great choice. The sun was setting and it was almost dark, so from way up in the air, all the lights of the fair glittered and you could see for miles. The weather had cooled down and great music drifted up. It was a perfect end to a fantastic day.
Now, it's back to the grind. My poor goldfish didn't make it even 24 hours alive. Let's hope I do a little better than he did this week!
Peace and love.
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