Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

 

I used to love going to the fair near my hometown in Virginia when I was in middle school and high school.

Serving a large area, the fair was huge and kept us busy for hours.

At that age, our favorite thing to do was check out the rides. We were fearless, and I can vividly recall the laughing, the screaming and the thrills we felt as we rode on ride after ride when we were there. It didn’t matter what it was or how scary it looked, we wanted to ride it. 

Most of the time it was all fun and games, but one time I remember my friend practically hyperventilating to get off of one of the rides, and to this day, I can recall the smell of the food that was in the air one of the days when I got off of the Zipper ride and proceeded to get sick in a nearby trash can. (The similar smell of mixed carnival foods still makes me queasy.)

I don’t recall seeing any animals, but they very well could have been there, and we didn’t see them because of how large the fair was.

When I came to Albert Lea, I was interested in checking out the Freeborn County Fair because of the great memories I had at the fair when I was growing up.

Though the Freeborn County Fair is smaller than the fair I attended in my youth, it has a lot of other great things going for it that I have enjoyed.

For anyone with children, the fair is a great place to go to see farm animals.

Speaking for myself, I am not as accustomed to interacting with anything other than cats and dogs — and the occasional fish or bird pet.

It almost becomes like a day at the zoo, walking around and looking at all of the animals — and you get to see them much closer than you would at the zoo, too.

While children are still going to be attracted to the fun rides and games, I like that you can go to the fair and still find plenty of other things to do if you are bringing younger children.

And did I mention all of the delicious food?

Aside from my adverse food experience at the fair of my youth, the food is always a big highlight for me and others attending the fair.

It’s the week to forget about your diets — or to put them off until next week — and to at least splurge for one meal.

I also enjoy when I can find the time to walk through and see what has been submitted for the various fair categories. You can get some ideas for new projects, see what others have done and marvel at the talent of others.

Lastly, I think we can all agree that the Grandstand entertainers are a huge draw to the fair, and they pull in people from neighboring areas.

Even if the type of music isn’t your favorite, the concerts can be a fun time to enjoy live music from bigger names you might not see elsewhere.

What else do you enjoy at the fair?

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.