Now that our region has a break from the rain, find your way to the Freeborn County Fair. Our county fair is one of the finest in the state of Minnesota. It only comes once a year and it is worth the price of admission.

Here are 10 suggestions of things to do at the fair:

1. Ride the rides of the midway. We have a young source who says the Zipper is the best ride.

2. Eat Tom Thumb Donuts. We have a middle-aged source who says it should be required that everyone try these.

3. Play a carnival game, particularly the one where kids and grown-ups alike throw rings around bottles. And what kid doesn’t enjoy seeing their dad swing the hammer and hit the bell?

4. See a half-hour show for the Mitchell Showboat Marionettes. Watch the daily calendar in the Tribune. You and your children will love the show. It’s good!

5. Go to the demolition derby at 4 p.m. Sunday. Well, duh! You were going to do that anyway, right?

6. Watch the majestic Budweiser Clydesdales trot through the fair before the 7 p.m. musical

performances. You can see them in their pens, too.

7. Enjoy the colorful horticulture at Floral Hall.

8. Hear Ben Olsen play and sing at 7 tonight in the Entertainment Square.

9. Walk through barns and visit the 4-H and FFA animals. We live in farm country, yet many residents rarely put their hands on a farm animal. Now is a good time to let your children pet a few.

10. Get free stuff from the exhibitors. Who doesn’t love the free knick-knacks the exhibitors give out? We’d rather have a pen that has an Albert Lea business name than one that says Bic.