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Let Me Take You To the Fair

© Christina Coruth

Get ready to have a great time because the NH Fair season is underway. It begins the last weekend in July with the North Haverhill Fair and runs through nine more Fairs, ending with the Sandwich Fair in early October. What is it like to spend a day at a NH Fair? Come with me as I guide you through a composite of my family's time at NH Fairs.

Prepare to spend more than just a few hours if you want to see everything. Get your hand stamped so that you can spend the day, go home for a rest, and return that evening without having to pay an admission fee twice. Arrive early; the aroma of fresh coffee brewing will lead you to breakfast. Perhaps the whole works, bacon and eggs, or perhaps a doughnut big enough for the entire family to share.

Amble on over to the section of the park where the animals are housed. Children will be delighted with the farm animals, perhaps a petting zoo of farm animals. Later in the morning, teams of huge Oxen will vie in pulling contests. But for now, it's fun to look at these great beasts. Don't miss out on the llamas, which have become so popular in New England the past few years. Be prepared for the jokes -- it does smell like a barnyard.

Keep walking until you hear the sound of someone mowing a lawn. No, it's not a lawn mower; it's the lumberjack competition. Watch them slice through an immense tree trunk with a chainsaw, as if it's a knife cutting through butter. Continue on, there's another man with a chainsaw, but he's carving something. It's a life-size bear!

How about a little change of pace? Go on over to the vendor area. Open-air displays let you see the treasures up close. Leather goods, jewelry, pottery, and all kinds of fun bric-a-brac are for sale. Some items cost only a few dollars; others may break the budget. Wandering through this vast array of goods will pass the time quickly. Before you know it, your stomach is announcing it's lunchtime and your feet are telling you it's time to sit down.

As you walk around the food section trying to decide what to eat, you hear the sizzling of hot sausage on the grill. The aroma of the sausage mingling with the onions and pepper is too much to resist. Pick up lunch and find a picnic table. What's that you hear? "Sweet Adeline" -- it's a Barber Shop Quartet strolling the grounds!

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