It's a shame that I have to post this under reminiscences because its only about the last and recent years, but I already miss late summer events. There were church picnics, fairs and the Little League World Series which would have been around this time. The intensity of mid summer heat and humidity is dissipating, crops are ripening so at least we still have that. I am missing the good old days (last year).
Our big thing was the state fair, which was in August. The food! The rides! The shows, the animals, the displays! We even had The Beetles one year at the fair.
I always looked forward to the Common Ground Fair, sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers & Growers Association. It was packed with liberal crazies, but some of them were entertaining. As an example, they might have two political and social action tents, and most were to the left of the Democrat Party, which probably wouldn't be possible this year. I don't know if Republicans or any conservative groups ever tried to get a table there, but they would probably be beaten to death. I enjoyed arguing with the nutsos in the liberal action tent sometimes, but mostly I liked the central purpose of the fair, which was agricultural in nature. The sheepdog shows, the animal exhibits, and all of the garden and planting exhibits, which included free seeds from prize-winning organic growers. These were great, as well as the tiny house exhibits, compost toilets, and various wood-burning devices. Although I am neither a farmer or a grower, we have had a family membership for more than a decade but I let it lapse this year, after they decided to do a "virtual fair," which seems about as nutty as the people in the social action tent. I used to enjoy the Springfield Fair. Springfield is a small town near here that once held a large fair each summer. But the last time I went, it had been reduced by about half, and none of the scheduled shows were even close to being on time. We never went back. The Houlton Fair, up north, used to be pretty good and might still be, but I haven't been able to get my wife to agree to go since it rained the last time we were there, a few years ago, and she slipped and fell in the mud. Maybe the worst part was that I took pictures before helping her up.
Late summer county fairs were always a big thing in my area, full of noise, crowds, rides, games, great eats, and hoopla; people were elbow to elbow, and you could get swept away if you tried to move against the wave of humanity in the main corridors. Cancelled and gone too soon now as super-spreader events in the continuing age of the hermit...
The Colorado State Fair is on, and it's going to negatively impact our upcoming trip, unfortunately. I've never cared for those types of events. Not in Austin. It's still getting hotter, and any crops out our way have shriveled and died without heroic measures being taken.