The Arlington County Fair!

It's Fair Season!

Every year I get a little nervous that the Fair (whatever one I go to, depending on where I am) won't be as fun or enjoyable as the years before, and every year, the Fair holds its own and affirms that it is just as great as I remember. In a dingy, dirty, random activity sort of way. 

I think going to the Walworth County Fair in Wisconsin last year showed me that I really need to experience the Fair when I go - at least one ride, one treat, or one game. Going to the Wisconsin State Fair growing up, we experienced the Fair by waiting in line to get our free cup of flavored-milk. With 20 flavors to choose from, ranging from Strawberry to Root Beer, that was an experience. When I went to the Missoula County Fair in Montana, we rode the fun slide in potato sacks and cheered on our friend as he rode his first mechanical bull (somewhat unsuccessfully). At the Utah State Fair, I cheered and screamed at the Boys II Men concert, along with several 40 year old women nearby. At the Walworth County Fair, we rode ride after ride until my nephew and I worried we'd be sick for the rest of the week. And at the Walworth County Fair, I had my first experience with deep-fried treats, a Fair staple I'd been missing in all my years of Fair-going (the deep-fried Milky Way is really the way to go, y'all). 

Perhaps I could be guilty of romanticizing the Fair to warm my nostalgic heart which aches for a bygone era, but I refuse to change. I've had such fun times at many a Summer Fair, and I'm so pleased to include the Arlington County Fair in that special Fair-focused place in my heart.

I went to the Arlington County Fair last night with my dear friend Jillian, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not a big Fair, by any means, but pleasing, nonetheless. The Fair itself is free - it's $1 for the shuttle to and from parking lots nearby, and that's it. Of course, food, rides and games require $$/tickets, but I appreciated that we didn't have to pay an entrance fee as well. And it was only about 10 minutes from where we live, so we were engrossed in the Fair in a jiffy.

At the top of the Ferris Wheel - eeeeeeek!

We rode on the old-school Ferris Wheel - a two-seater (an antique, compared to the newer teacup designs that hold 5-6 people). We ate deep-fried Oreos - Jillian had never had a deep-friend Fair treat, and her first experience was a SUCCESS! We deliberated on whether Jillian should or should not try to win a goldfish - we ultimately walked away after the smell of the garbage can holding the goldfish overwhelmed any feelings of nostalgia for the prize. We checked out the ponies standing around for rides and the piglet racing track - we'd missed the races by two hours, sadly. And we checked out in the booths in the air-conditioned indoor unit - an amenity that earned itself one of the highlights of the Fair, according to the website. We also almost rode the Carousel, but we didn't want to stand out too much next to all the children riding on it - plus there may have been a weight limit that we didn't know about. But if we had, I know what ones we would have ridden - Jillian would be speedy on the Raptor and I'd be enjoying the bouncing wobble of the Rooster. What happened to the standard, brightly colored plastic ponies?

The View from the top of the 'Wheel'

Deep-fried Oreos....sooooooooo goooooooood.

I really don't know what this is, but it placed in the Ceramics division of the Fair competition, and it made me giggle.

The Raptor never got a rest, with boy after boy racing for it. And what's with the creepy circus monkey? Oddly enough, I never saw anyone riding it....

But can I tell you, the Arlington County Fair may also be the nicest Fair I've ever been to - in terms of people and workers. Every 10 minutes, Jillian or I would have reason to remark just how nice someone was or the people were. Right when we walked in, the McDonalds cart had free smoothie samples, and when I walked up, the guy inside said, "I really like happy people," and gave me 2 cards to earn free smoothies at a local McDonalds (one for both of us). Then we asked if we could try both the Strawberry Lemonade and Mango Smoothie, and he said sure, then told me to keep on smiling as we thanked him and walked away (I had been smiling the whole time I was talking to him, he was a funny guy). By the way, the Mango Smoothie was delicious.

Then the Ferris Wheel guy kept trying to get us to cheer when we'd go past him at the bottom (I usually obliged), and he was kind of flirting as we got off, but not in a super-creepy way. The man we ordered our oreos from was very kind and energetic, and when Jillian stood contemplating whether to try winning that goldfish, the young man working the booth near where we were standing offered us both a trial toss. When we failed miserably, he quietly handed us two more ping pong balls to try perfecting our toss. Turns out we just weren't meant to win a goldfish that night, but we certainly appreciated the worker quite a bit. We also made quick friends with 2 people working a booth inside, when we decided to get temporary tattoos of brightly colored, vine-swinging monkeys. The woman and young man thought we were much funnier than I think we were meaning to be, and when we left the Fair, we ended up walking out right behind them and they recalled the fun we had had earlier regarding our bad-a#$% tats we were sporting on our arms.

My green guy is a little harder to see in the dark...but he's one tough cookie, I tell you what. Or he was, until I unceremoniously rubbed him off this morning - what, I wore a short-sleeved tee to work today!

And every time someone ran into me or cut me off, they quickly looked back at me, horrified by their own impertinence, and apologized deeply for whatever they had seemingly done. I tell you what, maybe it's because only good people go to Fairs on Thursday evenings, but I was impressed with the high-caliber of people we got to enjoy the Fair with last night. 

So thanks, Arlington County, for putting on a great Fair for us. You only deepened my love affair with the Fair (ba-dump, chhhh!).