Friday, October 24, 2014

The Cumming Country Fair, 2014


By now you know we fly every year to America in October because of the Cumming Country Fair.  Nicholas is now 14 years old, a high-school freshman, and still wants to go.  "It's a tradition," he says.  Since age two (in 2002) he has been 12 times, skipping only one year, 2012, when we weren't there in October because of nephew Peter's wedding in August.

This year was very different, however, because it was the first time Nicholas took a school buddy.

Buddy Sebastian is from Colombia, has lived in America only 7 years...and had never been to a fair.
So to start off, we all agreed the skylift was the first thing to do, to get the 12-minute overview.
We made sure they sat in front of us so we could "overview" them.

From that point on, till supper, we set the boys loose,
while Astrid and I went on our first-ever fair photo hunt.
Near the end of the skylift ride is the lineup of tractors and farm equipment, so we started there.

 Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, this pink tractor is always stage-center.

It's the wheels that grabbed my attention this year.

These are humongous, old-timey machines.
Put your hands together for all our farmers everywhere!

We always take time to run through the petting barn.
I remember when Nicholas was little and got to feel them.

This was our first time to walk through the old-timey school house...

...and the two churches attached on either side.
One was a Methodist Church and the other a Baptist Church.
How can you tell which is which?

At such-n-such a time, we rendezvoused with the boys for supper.
Each boy ate their own BIG turkey leg, while Astrid and I shared one...
with our prerequisite roasted corn, of course.

The guys were out of ride tickets at that point, ha, so g'ma did what she's good for.
And off we all were again.

By now we were getting a good ground-level overview of the fair, just as the sun started to set.

Talk about a Golden Hour as the sun treated us to its magic.

And then it was dark, with a different kind of magic.

The country store, the blacksmith shop, the quilting bee, the syrup and saw mills...
you get enough education to keep going back year after year, let alone for the rides.

But one thing new this year, winding its way throughout the fair the entire evening,
was the Puppetone Rockers.  They totally made the night for me.
We even talked with them for 15 minutes on one of their breaks.



Turn up the sound to get the gist,
totally upbeat and always with a message to the kids about "Doing Right."
What a thrill.  I hope they're back next year.

Last but not least, we always end the fair with homemade ice cream.
The boys had strawberry and the girls had chocolate-peanut-butter.
You'd be smiling, too!  :)

And yes, we already know the dates for next year's fair!

14 comments:

  1. Great stuff Ginnie. You bring the whole thing to life !

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    1. Thanks, Bill. This fair is the best one I've ever seen, which is one of the reasons why we keep going back, year after year. Nicholas may never tire of it. :)

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  2. Yes, the Cumming Country Fair should have you (and Astrid) do their advertising! I'm so tickled that you had this time with Nicholas, a preview of next summer's visit! Yay for grandsons!! :)

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    1. We have nothing but good to say about this fair, Ruth...and to think we used to live there! Lucky us. I have a feeling Nicholas will milk it dry before he's done with it! :)

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  3. This is a wonderful post about spending ONE BIG FUN EVENING with two kids that fully enjoy a night at the Fair. (and tow old geezers that do the same (grin)
    This time we two could walk around and take pictures. It was a wonderful time, a nice experience over and over.
    Great shots, wonderful memories.

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    1. This was our first time to be off on our own to do our own thing. I have a feeling we'll keep doing it from this time forward. HA! Well, it does have its advantages...but then, I'm sure one year you'll be itching to share the rides again with Nicholas??!! :)

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  4. Alas, the old Danbury Fair is gone, and where the fairgrounds were they’ve put a mall, and I can still feel my heart thump when I think of the hell Marcia put me through there back in 10th grade in my 1952 Oldsmobile, but that’s the way she was and I was. Last week Jane and I went up to a Hopper exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum in MA, and we passed the old Great Barrington Fair grounds. I photographed the ruins of them a few years ago, but as we passed they were finally tearing them down. Perhaps it will be another mall.

    Sounds like you have created a wonderful ritual with Nicholas which will be remembered throughout his life. As I watched and read I thought how our Aiden is growing. He is three years behind Nicholas, and soon he will also be going off on his own more often when we go places.

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    1. I have never found another fair to match this one, Ted, so hopefully it'll be around for a long time. This year we didn't go to the Indian Village at the far end of the fair, but it, too, is part of the charm. There's always so much to see and do, totally apart from the rides!

      Nicholas for sure will never forget the fair. Every year we ask him if he still wants to go because if not, we can change our dates for visiting! HA! As long as the fair is important to him, we'll make it happen. The day he chooses to go with a girlfriend and does NOT want his g'mas around...well, that will be the day! :) They grow up before you know it!

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  5. I ADORE the golden hour photos and your grandson is so handsome (not a cute little boy anymore!) He actually favors you! I so see a resemblance. Love all the smiling faces and I have you "up" on my computer screen and will be back to visit so many of the posts I have missed! (I'm off right now to ride my horse - it's a gorgeous October day here.

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    1. You amaze me, Margaret. I never expect you to catch up on me because you have your own life, you know! HA! But I know what you mean about Nicholas because that's exactly how I feel about your own little boy...who isn't all that little anymore! I'll have to go see what he's been up to lately! :) Thank you for stopping by. Happy riding....

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  6. I haven't been to a good county fair in yrs. Used to go to our where I grew up in Indiana...lots of great food, rides and competition with sewing and cooking. Won a few ribbons myself.

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    1. I was involved in 4-H in my day, Donna, so when we went to the Ionian County Fair in Michigan, it was never for the rides but for the ribbons! With 8 kids in our preacher's family, I'm sure there was never any money for everything else at the fair. So I have no memories of that part. I guess now I'm catching up through Nicholas. :)

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