FAIR CULTURE by Harold Lee Miller.

Truthfully, I had a bunch of random photos on my desktop and I was trying to figure out a way to string them together… it wasn’t working.

Then, I stumbled upon these photos that I had archived a while back.

I scrapped my other idea to string random photos together in favor of these FAIR photos. I just love them…

SMALL TOWN FAIRS

I came from a big city, San Francisco. We didn’t go to County Fairs. I’m not even sure where we held our County Fair… It wasn’t any big deal and I cannot remember any kid I knew ever entering anything at a County Fair. We didn’t do any of that. We didn’t drive by livestock – ever – or even think about livestock in any capacity except maybe when our mothers pondered which type of leather jacket to purchase.

However, as a kid, I always wanted to eat homemade goods, make things by hand and be around animals… there just wasn’t much opportunity.

When I moved to LA for college/career it was the same thing…

So, when I finally got out and moved to the country, the County Fair (and even the State Fair) were enchanting wonderlands for me. I had never experienced the thrill of portable rides (Yikes!), homemade jams of every variety, contest categories with ribbons!, quilts made by the lady sitting in the booth, kids raising animals (which makes me sad and I actually hate the idea of kids selling their animals for meat…), the cowmanship and horse shows, the small town stage variety acts, the exhibits, the food, the smells, the sounds… all of it – the entire package is a world and a feeling unto itself.

I love it. To me, I think County Fairs do a soul good…

In fact, our whole family goes to every County Fair around us each year! Hubby makes sure to grab all the brochures at the State Fair so we don’t miss any County Fairs. (He grew up in the city, too…)

Any of our unsuspecting city folk friends come to visit during Fair Season are always treated to a day at the Fair. Of course, they wear the wrong clothes, inappropriate shoes and not enough sun block as they walk around with their mouths gaping and eyes wide. Culture, culture, culture of a different variety – and so much fun!

So, without further ado, here are some excerpts from a book I have researched called, FAIR CULTURE by Harold Lee Miller. His website is linked here.