Was the State Fair a huge deal for you every year as a kid?

Posted by RarelyHere1345@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 257 comments

(U.S. centric post, I know, sorry). The State Fair was a MAJOR milestone for us every year, and I’m guessing this breaks down regionally—like probably folks who grew up in NYC or LA weren’t super invested in the 4-H scene. But as a midwestern kid, holy shit, we loved the State Fair. The food, the livestock judging, the BUTTER COW (life sized cow sculpture made of literal butter in a refrigerated case), the Commercial Building with the Salad Shooter demonstrations, the Craft Building with the crocheted Barbie dresses—it was incredible. I think there was a dirt bike track? There were definitely shitty cover bands and local politicians handing out paper fans and the Dept of Natural Resources had a sweet “local fish and wildlife” display. We weren’t allowed on the Midway because the rides were unsafe according to our mom, “held down by safety pins,” in her words. Anyway, that does it. I’m getting tickets and taking my 10 year old nephew this month. Hell yeah.

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OppositeRun6503@reddit

We typically had traveling carnivals growing up in our area.

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no_clever_name_yet@reddit

It’s not called “the great Minnesota get-together” for nothing! We only have about 5.8 million people in MN, right? About a THIRD of MN’s population visits the State Fair during its 12 days. That’s HUGE!

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sarahbee126@reddit

It is huge, but I always assumed some of those visitors (definitely a minority) were from out of state, and I think some are repeat visitors.

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no_clever_name_yet@reddit

Sure, but still, if even a SIXTH of Minnesotans go? That’s immense!

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sarahbee126@reddit

Yes. The Minnesota State Fair is the one I grew up with, aka the great Minnesota get together. It's the second largest state fair to Texas (of course) but it has the most people per day. Part of the fun is just seeing all the people, and there's lots of food to choose from. They have LOTS of interesting stuff, I didn't feel like listing it all out. I've never been to a concert, but there's a coliseum there and they have names I recognize performing.

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cptsears@reddit

Midwest kid. Only did the county fair, and I loved going to it because it was the only chance to get on amusement park style rides without travelling for hours. All the unsafe ones for kids, like the zipper, graviton, himalaya, etc. That and heart-clogging fair food.

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

Not really. I'm from the Houston area and the state fair is held in the Dallas area, which is like 4 or 5 hours away. And many of us folks avoid south Oklahoma like the plague. lol However, the Galveston County fair was a big one when I was in school as a lot of my friends in 4-H and FFA showed their animals there. The REALLY big one was Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (or RodeoHouston, as it's called now). I actually travelled back to my home state earlier this year to go to the rodeo with my son.

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casapantalones@reddit

As a UT alum, I’d argue that the state fair is a big deal.

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The_dots_eat_packman@reddit

Grew up in the Dallas area. The state fair was a HUGE deal. My school even had field trips there a few times. I don't live in state any more, but I miss going.

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idiotsbydesign@reddit

Most schools in DFW metroplex have a fair day. Day off school so you can go.

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No_Foundation1136@reddit

Grew up in Houston and I've lived in Dallas the last 7. I generally consider the rodeo and the state fair to be the same thing but I get that it's a bigger difference for some.

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ManInTheMorning@reddit

As someone born and raised in Oklahoma, I felt this comment.

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casapantalones@reddit

The county fair was the biggest in Texas (at least back then). We had days off school for the fair, so that the ag kids could show their livestock and so that the rest of us could attend. The state fair in Texas is also a HUGE thing and is the venue for the red river rivalry football game between Texas and Oklahoma every year.

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brotherwho2@reddit

It can be frustrating when there are posts from the US, just assuming everyone will know it's about the US, but you put context up front - respect.

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Puzzled_Loquat@reddit

Nope. Grew up on Long Island

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lavasca@reddit

County fair, yes. I still haven’t been to a state fair. I’m originally from San Diego and we got major headliners performing at Del Mar Fair.

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Ice_Solid@reddit

The fireworks, food, venders. The Del Mar fair is the best and will always be called that. As well and the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

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lavasca@reddit

Helzz yeah! I still want to do the Nairobi Village overnight now that my husband actually goes to Nairobi for business!

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HeaEuroShrub@reddit

Yaaaas! The Del Mar Fair (as I will always call it, despite it changing to the "San Diego County Fair.") It's pretty much ruined all similar types of fairs for me. I live in Illinois now and both our state fair and the Wisconsin state fair pale in comparison. I love how they also showcase so many other interests other than just ag and handicrafts, but also art, student publications, CAD, research, etc, and not just stuff through 4H.

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lavasca@reddit

I am as committed to calling it Del Mar Fair as Greatest Gen, Silents & Boomers are to saying Standard instead of Chevron or more!

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HeaEuroShrub@reddit

Also I don't care how many years pass and how long it's been since I've been there, it's Jack Murphy Stadium, aka The Murph.

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lavasca@reddit

Totally the Murph!!!!

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OrganicAverage1@reddit

I grew up in the bay area and we would go to Sacramento for the state fair every year. The state fair here in Oregon is nothing compared to the California state fair.

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BlueSnaggleTooth359@reddit

NJ actually has a fairly big one (although it might be county, not state? maybe it is state). Although I think we've only gone to it once. Pretty big deal for those way up in the northwest corner valleys farm areas. But drew in people from around. (Although speaking of DEP displays. The DEP and state Audubon have gone totally corrupt and set up sham displays misleading the public and children and telling them that we need to, at tax payer expense, clearcut our critical mature forests, natural heritage sites, endangered raptor deep forest nesting areas, steep slopes above drinking water supplies, intact unfragmented forests. As they write themselves 6 figure bonus checks billing the public for writing phony scam management plans. Etc.)

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RockItGuyDC@reddit

County Fair, for sure. I grew up not too far north of NYC, and our county fair was great. I still go just to eat the food and get the 4H milkshakes (our 4H ran a milkshake stand supplied by a dairy farm owned by a family I knew).

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lopan75@reddit

Dutchess County Fair?

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RockItGuyDC@reddit

Shhhh! Haha, yup!

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Both-Enthusiasm708@reddit

We have a 4H milkshake booth tool! I hated when I had to work it, but the milkshakes were the best.

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lavasca@reddit

Oooh, the Cinnamon Buns!

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RockItGuyDC@reddit

Italian sausage and pepper sandwiches and a giant tub of fries are my go-to.

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WonderfulCattle6234@reddit

I'm still chasing those deep fried cheese curds from the county fair back in 1992. I should probably go back to the county fair. That probably should have been my first stop.

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espo619@reddit

I know you're an OG because you still call it the Del Mar Fair.

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lavasca@reddit

Right!?!?!

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pennyflowerrose@reddit

Del Mar Fair was amazing, we went every year when I was a kid.

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enstillhet@reddit

We don't have a state fair in Maine but we have numerous agricultural fairs, and those were a big part of my life because my grandfather had a farm and I worked on it.

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Zealousideal_Put5666@reddit

Im from NY. It wasn't a thing here. I recall one summer visiting my cousins in the mid west and it was a big deal. It was fun. They gave out kudos candy / granola bar and we got tons of them and ate them the whole week.

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BillTheConqueror@reddit

I once did my birthday at the NC State Fair with some friends in elementary school. It definitely felt like a huge deal at the time.

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GalaxyRedRanger@reddit

Yeah. NC State Fair was a big deal. I joined the FFA in high school just because we got out of school one day a year to go to the fair. You work the FFA barn for like an hour and then you’re free to roam. It was pretty wild walking the midway at 10 in the morning while everyone else is at school/work.

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Beradicus69@reddit

Ontario Canada checking in. Usually during the summer there was probably more than one traveling fair. It would pop up in a town for a week. Then move on. I went a few times. But it was always expensive. I would have to choose between rides or games. We could never do both.

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FoppyDidNothingWrong@reddit

Too close to the city.

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Intelligent-Camera90@reddit

Last year was the first time I’ve been to the Big E (at 43) - I had so much fun, but there were soooooooo many people.

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Tony_Tanna78@reddit

I remember the State Fair where I live being promoted heavily back in the day. We had the Spring Fling and the Fall edition. I remember going to the latter back in the day.

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NoExam2412@reddit

Fun fact, Illinois has TWO state fairs. And, yes, we didn't start our school year until AFTER the state fair was over which ended on labor day weekend.

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unreliable_ibex@reddit

Man, in Northern IL we went to the Winnebago County Fair and we started school the third week of August. 🤣

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the_DOS_god@reddit

Yeah we used to go to both, Southern Illinois State Fair and the Illinois State Fair. The races were what we went for. Drove 3 states to get there. Best memory I had was the Corn on the cob boiled in butter.

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Mooseandagoose@reddit

Grew up in CT and loved the Big E. County fairs were not a huge thing in my part of the state but the Big E was such a fun time each year. We were in MA for a family thing a couple of years ago and took one of the kids to it - she still talks about it but has no desire to go to any of the similar ones here in GA, where she has always lived.

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ImA13x@reddit

Fellow CT kid here and the Big E was definitely something we looked forward to! My dad and I would go through the chicken house and laugh at all the silly looking ones. Good times!

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Mooseandagoose@reddit

It was a big thing for me and my friends in our 20s for some reason (maybe we appreciated it more? Not sure). We would meet our college friends from neighboring states, support friends competing in the horse shows, ate our way through the state houses and enjoyed the 4H shows & displays.

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BlueSnaggleTooth359@reddit

NJ actually has a fairly big one (although it might be county, not state? maybe it is state). Although I think we've only gone to it once. Pretty big deal for those way up in the northwest corner valleys farm areas. But drew in people from around. (Although speaking of DEP displays. The DEP and state Audubon have gone totally corrupt and set up sham displays misleading the public and children and telling them that we need to, at tax payer expense, clearcut our critical mature forests, natural heritage sites, endangered raptor deep forest nesting areas, steep slopes above drinking water supplies, intact unfragmented forests. As they write themselves 6 figure bonus checks billing the public for writing phony scam management plans. Etc.)

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TK1129@reddit

Your post was pretty spot on. I grew up in and around New York City and was unaware that New York had one. I just googled it and it’s in Syracuse which is about 250 miles from me. No real need or desire to go up there to see it

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C4bl3Fl4m3@reddit

I'm from Pennsylvania where we don't have a State Fair in late summer/early Fall... we have an INDOOR Farm Show in a special complex in Harrisburg (the capital) built for it, usu. during the 2nd week in January. It is AWESOME, possibly PA's best kept secret. We have the same things as outdoor fairs (inc. a giant butter sculpture!) except for the rides and instead of your standard (overpriced) fair concessions, the various food co-ops & FFAs and stuff all get together to do the food, which is absolutely AWESOME (and not too badly priced). The milkshakes are known as the best anywhere (the rumor is that the ice cream they use has a higher % of butterfat than is legal to sell in stores!), the fried mozzarella cheese cubes are absolutely spectacular, and you haven't lived until you've had a potato (flour) donut or their fried mushrooms... or maple syrup cotton candy! It's so well loved they had a virtual Farm Show in 2021 (2020's was before the outbreak hit the USA). We even did a Farm Show Night at home where we made PA foods (or other local foods) & watched YouTube videos from other years. I even made "best in show" ribbons for our stuffed animals! Seriously, if you live anywhere near PA, go sometime. (That being said, we have county fairs, and I grew up near the oldest in the country... the York County Fair. It's from the 1700s.)

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FairBaker315@reddit

I live in PA too and I agree, Farm Show is #1! I enter baked goods every year that the weather is agreeable for me to drive down from Pittsburgh. There're plenty of nice county fairs in my area so I can get my corn dog and elephant ear fix every summer.

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caniki@reddit

The Big E in Springfield MA is still a huge deal.

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Upnatom617@reddit

Same!

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Enough_Roof_1141@reddit

Nope. Wisconsin state fair was in Milwaukee. I live in Milwaukee for years and never cared. I think the only time I went was to see Cheap Trick and I think I had some gross fair food I thought was overpriced. In Texas it’s in Dallas and it’s in October for like a month. Have no interest in going up there to be around your average Texans. Deeply in my Austin bubble.

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OneandOnlyBobTom@reddit

Love in California. Not sure where the state fair is at (Sacramento?) but the county fair was and is still a big deal for me atleast. I like the animals, the art, and the entertainment.

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GarminTamzarian@reddit

I grew up in Sonoma county and the county fair was always pretty cool. My brother did woodworking in high school and won a Best in Show prize for the china cabinet he made. I've been to the state fair once since I've lived in Texas. It was pretty interesting (and huge) but also *incredibly* crowded. No interest in going back, really. Will consider checking out another once we move in a few years (Colorado).

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Prudent-Lake1276@reddit

I've never understood the appeal. I grew up in rural MA and it wasn't part of my childhood. The only agriculture near me was cranberry bogs. I live in Raleigh NC currently and it's such a big thing here. As far as I can see it's just rides I wouldn't stand too close to (never mind ride), fried everything, and a few buildings worth of stuff that honestly doesn't interest me. I prefer the spring festival that's like a mini fair, but includes an entire building of local businesses selling interesting food.

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roonilwonwonweasly@reddit

No. City kids don't go to state fairs. We hardly ever left the city. I didn't go to a state or county fair until I was in my late 20s and moved out of the city.

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mcflycasual@reddit

In Michigan, it was in Detroit Proper originally.

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roonilwonwonweasly@reddit

Do street fairs count?

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ut1nam@reddit

Big deal for me and my family because we were a farm family, so I looked forward to it and the earlier parish fair every year (not least of all because I got to be absent from school during it lol).

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withbellson@reddit

I grew up in Sacramento and we’d go every year. Entered stuff in the competitions and won ribbons, even a Best in Show once for a chocolate pound cake I did not actually taste. Moved to the Bay Area and I have no idea when the State Fair even is. They don’t advertise it out here at all.

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International_Bit478@reddit

I grew up in Minnesota where the State Fair is a huge deal. I loved going there. Now I live in California, where the State Fair is just kind of meh. Sometimes they have halfway decent concerts. They have typical fair food, but the fair in general just lacks spirit, soul, whatever you want to call it. It’s more like a collection of things in one place rather than a cohesive event.

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BlueSnaggleTooth359@reddit

NJ actually had a fairly big one. Although I think we've only gone to it once. Pretty big deal for those way up in the northwest corner valleys farm areas. But drew in people from around. (Although speaking of DEP displays. The DEP and state Audubon have gone totally corrupt and set up sham displays misleading the public and children and telling them that we need to, at tax payer expense, clearcut our critical mature forests, natural heritage sites, engangered raptor deep forest nesting areas, steep slopes above drinking water supplies, intact unfragmented forests. As they write themselves 6 figure bonus checks billing the public for writing phony scam management plans. Etc.)

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Rat_Cabbage@reddit

are you talking about the Georgia National Fair in particular here?! Cause that’s exactly what you’ve described. I went every year from 1991 until 2007? I think… loved it so much!

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RarelyHere1345@reddit (OP)

Missouri State Fair in beautiful Sedalia, MO! But the Georgia one sounds sweet too!

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Fearless-Celery@reddit

Oh, that's funny, because in my reply I called the Missouri one boring...lol

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Fearless-Celery@reddit

Depends on where we lived at the time. New Mexico state fair? Hells yeah. Wisconsin? Bring on the cream puffs. Missouri? 😴 We still went but it was an afternoon and evening, not going back multiple days.

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kayla622@reddit

I grew up in Salem, OR where the state fair is held. I’ve been to the fair a few times; but we more or less avoided that side of town during fair season. If we did go to the fair, it was less for the rides and games and more for the booths, 4H stuff, and the competitions. Way back in the day, there used to be horse racing at the fair and we’d go to that.

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HydeParkSwag@reddit

Man I miss the Mid-South Fair.

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Perdendosi@reddit

Yes. The attendance at the Iowa State Fair (over its 10 days) was about equal to the population of the state (cuz many people went multiple days).

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Joerugger@reddit

The MN State Fair has always been a pretty big deal.

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sampsen@reddit

I have core childhood memories of driving a tank that shot racquet balls. The next year they had fucking boats that shot racquetballs. It was fucking AWESOME. 35 years later and I’m still chasing that rush.

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HAL_9OOO_@reddit

Indiana's is pretty great. The midwest does state fairs way better than everywhere else.

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hisamsmith@reddit

I have done the Indiana State Fair at least twice a year since I was a year old with the exception of three years. Two of them I was in the hospital or on bed rest the whole fair time and of course the third was 2020. I roam around the same buildings with the same basic things that I have seen since the 1980s. Animals, Pioneer building/village, DNR building and outdoor areas (including fishing pond and goat feeding stations), 4-H project building, art & craft projects building, and the building with the honey. I eat mostly the same thing at the same stalls every year. In fact I’m going back on Friday. I am bringing my old lemon shakeup bucket so I save $12 filling it up verses buying a new one. It’ll be an awesome day.

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Least-Basil-9612@reddit

Washington and Texas are just as good

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Impossible_Yak5258@reddit

Minnesota state fair goer here!! We loved it!! It was the only event where my money-strapped mom let us get whatever we wanted without complaining about the cost. I’d try to break my record of eating the most pronto pups in one day. Also, we saw The Jets on the small stage before they were well known!! I really want to take my family one summer, but we live far away and I’m worried they won’t “get it.”

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zoominzacks@reddit

The great Minnesota Sweat together

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Joerugger@reddit

You’ve been!

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zoominzacks@reddit

Yup! Parents refused to go when I was young because of the hassle of going to “the cities”. But once they heard you could drive to Ridgedale Mall and take a bus we went a few times. Then when I was a teenager was warned not to go to the midway with friends because “people get shot at night there”. Nowadays I’ll go if my wife shows me a food I’d try, otherwise she just goes with friends.

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Rude_Masterpiece_239@reddit

Great fair. Stuff my face with cheese curds. Ride the big slide. Then go watch a pig give berth. Down a few beers in between.

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fm67530@reddit

I've spoken about this to many people. For us, growing up in rural areas, with no internet and pre cell phones, the county fair and state fair were special times for us. It gave us the chance to meet up with our friends, to catch up, for those few days mid summer.

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EnvironmentalPack451@reddit

In New England we have a multi-state fair called "The Eastern States Exposition" or "The Big E".

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MungoJennie@reddit

That sounds like a combination of the Farm Show (especially the butter sculpture) and the fair. Both were big deals, though.

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cwatson214@reddit

You can do it in a trot You can do it in a gallup You can fo it real slow so your heart don't palpitaaaaaate Just don't be late Do the Puyallup

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MarionberryWitty532@reddit

I was reminiscing with my family about it today. We took my three year old niece to Remlinger Farms, and it brought up some great old memories. On the one hand, it was a highlight of the year. In the other….. dammit; summer’s over. ….but I’m going out with a bang after spending (what seemed like the ungodly sum of) $35 on this all-you-can-rides wristband!!!

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sunchasinggirl@reddit

Yessssss! It will always be the Puyallup Fair.

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Calculusshitteru@reddit

Yes! I lived in Seattle but we went on a school field trip there every year! I remember my brother got left behind one year lol

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KingdomOfFawg@reddit

Seafair hydros, 9pm sunsets, competent Mariners teams, we had life by the ass back then.

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drewcandraw@reddit

It wasn't. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, a little more than a 3 hour drive from Springfield and the state fair. If we lived closer, it might have been a bigger deal. There were plenty of things to do in Chicago, like museums and ballgames, to name just two. In my 20s I had friends in Minneapolis and lived there for a time. We went to the Fair every summer. It was something that was nearby and fun to do.

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Least-Basil-9612@reddit

Western Washington state fair in Puyallup was always a big deal as a kid. Almost everyone in school went at least one time during the three weeks it ran (still runs).

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knitreadrepeat@reddit

Yes. At the state fair when I was a kid the rides were included in your ticket. It was one of the only times we could afford rides. The giant slide was a highlight; I had a tantrum the year I'd outgrown my favorites, even though Dad offered to take me to the big kid rides. Now it's like an extra 40$ for a ride wristband, or like 5_ per individual ride. Haven't ridden rides at a fair in years.

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Both-Enthusiasm708@reddit

County fair for me. I was in 4H. We just thought we were awesome just hanging out all day at the fair and then seeing friends at night. Don't know if it's still the same, but they really just let us 4H kids just wander wherever.

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clutzycook@reddit

I went to our state fair once when I was 6 or 7. It was about a 2 hour drive from our house so it just wasn't something we did. We weren't really big county fair people either. I remember going 2 or 3 times when I was a kid because my dad was working the booth for the company he worked for at the time, but they likely saw the overpriced food and carnival rides as a waste of money.

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tigerlilie43@reddit

Yes, des moines iowa here and it starts tomorrow for the next 10 days

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Waste-Reflection-235@reddit

I grew up and live in an area where in one direction, in an hour or so you’re in NYC. In the other direction, you’re an hour or so into the heart of New England. I have the pleasure of enjoying both worlds. In my neck of the woods we have the Big E. I love it! I have so many great childhood memories there. Now I take my kids there and they love it too.

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MsBlondeViking@reddit

Grew up near three different county seats. I frequented those three Co fairs religiously each summer. I only attended my state’s fair twice.

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Appropriate-Bid8671@reddit

No. My parents are divorced and I spent my summers with my mom in a different state so I never even went to my state fair until I was an older teen and went on my own.

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valhallaswyrdo@reddit

We had a local fair that was a big deal, in fact my earliest memory is from there. My grandparents took my cousin and I to ride some rides. She (my cousin) was so excited to ride the gravitron but I was scared of it, except I wasn't going to admit I was scared so I pretended to be even more excited than she was and powered through it, I ended up having a really fun time.

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FilmHeather@reddit

State Fair forever, man. We go multiple times during its run every year

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GlitteringHotMess@reddit

OP, this screams Texas State Fair. Being in Texas, especially DFW, the state fair is a huge event! A lot of great memories. I haven't been in several years.

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Afootinafieldofmen@reddit

Was scrolling to find a fellow Dallas kid! Fair Day was the freaking best. We got the day off school, a free ticket and a bus pass, got to hang out with our friends and smoke cigs and eat corn dogs. I remember the year when they put in the metal detectors! As a late 90s teen, I would also enjoy a trip to Forbidden Books and Bar of Soap after even though I had no business being in the latter establishment.

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GlitteringHotMess@reddit

Omg, Forbidden Books. I loved that place! Yup, no business, but we were all so cool!

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Aardet@reddit

I went to the Wisconsin State Fair nearly every year growing up. Best part is the dedicated warehouse for serving cream puffs.

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LOUCIFER_315@reddit

The Great New York State Fair, every year pretty much, more as a kid because there was a racetrack and they had Monster trucks. The fairgrounds are pretty big and has all types of building for conventions, concerts and other events all year round.

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unbalancedcentrifuge@reddit

We were in the boondocks...it was all the county fair. The Demo Derby and tractor pulls were the big events.

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ReverieJC@reddit

Yeah, we used to go every year, 80's, early 90's. I remember those product demonstration vendors. One had this cool typesetting demo...I got my name made into a little metal strip stamp-like thingy.. Anyway, we stopped going...same stuff every year, too much for tickets, parking...

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justonemom14@reddit

No, too far away, never went.

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UnluckyCardiologist9@reddit

The LA County Fair was pretty cool back in the days. They also had some decent concerts, I got my mom a ticket to see El Buki. 😁🥰 I got to see Boyz II Men and Baby Face about 10 years ago, too.

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Boomgoesmybrain@reddit

I like the OC fair too.

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Automatic-Raspberry3@reddit

I was a 4h kid. My kids are now. So still a super big deal.

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adjectivescat@reddit

The Ohio State Fair was always fun for us. There’s a section that has benches for state counties and our last name was the same as a county so we always had to go find the bench, and then talk to Smokey the Bear and watch the logging show.

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aspbergerinparadise@reddit

i grew up mostly in Florida. For us, the county fair was just carnies, rickety rides, ripoff midway games, and booths with cheap pocket knives and gaudy t-shirts with the playboy logo on them. As a 13 year old, it was the coolest place on earth.

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orangesigils@reddit

OMG, you're an Iowan! Also, yes, as a child, that was most of our vacays. It always happened right before school started.

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RarelyHere1345@reddit (OP)

Missouri actually—and still salty about the year Iowa one-upped MO by doing a butter sculpture of Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. That is GOAT state fair territory

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orangesigils@reddit

TBH I had no idea that any other state fair did a buttered cow. Call me sheltered on this one....😱

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MicCheck123@reddit

Apparently butter cattle aren’t uncommon. https://www.bing.com/search?q=butter+cow&PC=U316&FORM=CHROMN

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_procrastinatrix_@reddit

Ohio does a butter cow too!

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mckmaus@reddit

So I'm in St Louis and I had no idea Missouri had a state fair. I guess I could have assumed it, and just known it was not close. But St Louis isn't participating in anything 4-H.

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RarelyHere1345@reddit (OP)

Yeah, Sedalia and St. Louis are kind of different universes, I’ll give you that lol

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kippismn@reddit

I'm in MN. The state fair is still a big deal.

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jessek@reddit

Not really, in Colorado for some reason it’s in Pueblo, which is on the far south side of the state and a long drive for me growing up so we never went. Went to a the county fair a few times growing up, the rides were fun.

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cartoonchris1@reddit

Why in the red, white, and blue striped h-e-double hockey sticks are you apologizing? JFC

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C4bl3Fl4m3@reddit

FWIW, Canada has the Canadian National Exposition ("The Ex") this time every year in Toronto. It's basically a giant state fair. It's great!

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BalrogRuthenburg11@reddit

I live in Chicagoland and have never been to a state or county fair.

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sanityjanity@reddit

There was one day when admission was only 50 cents, and the school would give us the afternoon off to go. It was awesome. Except for that one girl who was kidnapped by a carnie.

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rootsquasher@reddit

>State Fair a huge deal for you… No, I lived in the Southeast, and many people would get ‘shot’ at various state fairs. As such, I kept my distance.

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Rare_Background8891@reddit

The county fair is where it’s at. The state fair was tiny in comparison.

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Crans10@reddit

Well my god father was running the Texas state fair for the longest time growing up so we went every year.

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RarelyHere1345@reddit (OP)

I bet he had some stories to tell!

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AlmnysDrasticDrackal@reddit

Where I grew up, the county fair (Porter County, IN), was much more important to most of us than the state fair. We would easily spend multiple days there eating fair food, losing money on unwinnable games, and risking limbs and life on the fair rides. The animal competitions and farm equipment expo were interesting and fun, too, but not as big a deal to those of us who were "city kids".

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Account_Wrong@reddit

I grew up in St. Joseph County. Not too far away! I didn't go to the state fair until after college. Our County fair was about 10 minutes from my house growing up.

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Zealousideal-Aide890@reddit

Grew up in Buffalo, the Erie County Fair was a big deal

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ljf137@reddit

Tell me you're from Iowa without telling me

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RepresentativeNo2187@reddit

Nope, 0%.

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medevam@reddit

STILL a huge deal. I fly back to Wisconsin every year in August for the State Fair.

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smokiechick@reddit

I grew up going to the county fair with my godmother's kids - I lived over the state line, so they were the only people I knew. I don't remember ever paying to get in... We would walk up the road and go into the horse parking lot and wander in between the rings for the pulls (horse, oxen, tractors). I think I was a teenager when I found out people paid to get in. We'd be there all day. It was awesome. I didn't realize that my local fair, where I bought my house, was the state fair until I'd gone twice. The nice thing about rural New England fairs is that usually the ice cream is made with milk from the cows at the fair (because you still have to milk them on fair days), and in VT, you get maple creemees and maple cotton candy

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ScottClam42@reddit

As a lifelong Pennsylvanian, I cant sign this because PA doesnt have a state fair. There were however tons of regional fairs which were a blast. The kimberton fair was our fam's spot, and now i take my little one. This year was their 96th year running

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katiw46@reddit

I live about 10 minutes from the North Georgia State Fair, so we'd go every year. My first concerts were at the fair. I haven't been in about 10 years, since my son was a toddler. Maybe we'll try to go this year.

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Rubberbandballgirl@reddit

No. Where I’m from the Rodeo is a bigger deal. I didn’t visit the State Fair until I was over 30 and it was just a less good version of the Rodeo.

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Go_Ninja_Go_Ninja_Go@reddit

I want to go visit a big deal county or state fair now. We had them growing up and in fact I grew up in an agricultural area but it wasn't a big deal for my family really. I did enter a ceramics competition with this dress sculpture I made in high school and apparently I won ha. Like the high school entered some things from our class, I just got it back in class one day with a blue ribbon that was cool. I took my kid recently to a local-ish county fair but he had no interest in gawking at the farm animals. The carnival games were soooo expensive but it was something to do. I on the other hand now want to go as an adult and see all the attractions, the animals, I want to see a butter cow!

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CoffeePieAndHobbits@reddit

Iowa state fair starts this Thursday if you want to see it.

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ofTHEbattle@reddit

I went to the Michigan State Fair one time in my life, that was in maybe 2004 or 5. Didn't get the hype and never went back.

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mcflycasual@reddit

When did it leave Detroit?

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cellrdoor2@reddit

I used to love going as a teen (would have been 93 or 94). Rides, junk food, and lots of free swag. Once we ended up with about 300 free pens from a local bank. We asked the guy at the table how many we could have and he took out a box from under the booth and said, knock yourselves out. We used those pens for at least a decade.

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ofTHEbattle@reddit

Nice! I had a job at a hotel when I was 16 ...I swear I still have a few of their pens around .. that was 25 years ago...

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IAm5toned@reddit

The TN state fair is still a big deal.

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AfternoonPast3324@reddit

We would hit our county fair and some surrounding counties. The first state fair I went to, I took my kids.

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mcflycasual@reddit

Ours was in Detroit right off 8 Mile and it was in the 90s. We were from a rural area and I did enter rabbits a couple years in a row. You had to keep them there all week which was stressful. I didn't do well in showmanship but did get Best in Show one year. I remember every time we drove down to Detroit, my parents would always lock the car doors. My mom was an avid photographer and didn't want to bring her camera. Idk I always had fun. Crazy because an Amazon Warehouse is there now. They did revitalize the main Pavillion into the bus terminal. But it was really sad seeing history be torn down for capitalism. Always looked forward to our county fair though!

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Longjumping-Code7908@reddit

Our big highlight in agriculture territory of northern CA was the tri-county fair. Held Labor Day weekend and usually school started right after so it was our final summer hurrah. Hay harvest finished and deer season right around the corner. State fair was way too big & fancy for my family.

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mckmaus@reddit

I'm from St Louis. I have no idea what the State Fair for Missouri would do. We went to the VP fair downtown for 4th of July. Which is based in racism somewhere. They call it something else now, and it's a little sketch. There were carnivals all over, but I don't know anything about county or State fairs.

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Inner_Ad4137@reddit

We went to the county fair when I lived in NY because the state fair was like 4-5 hrs away. I live in Ohio now, and the state fair is right in town, so I do that with my daughter now.

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holypooitsame@reddit

In no particular order, the Dairy Festival, county fair, *and* state fair were all big time events where I grew up.

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ketamineburner@reddit

4-H definitely exists in LA. I grew up going to the LA county fair every tear. It was definitely a big deal.

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Roy_G_Biv_87@reddit

Yes! They used to give us a day off of school and free tickets every year.

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IDontGiveASchist@reddit

Not state fair for me, the county fair was the highlight of the summer! Since I moved back to NY I rarely miss the Dutchess County Fair, my first stop is always the 4H milkshakes!! I finally went to the state fair when I was living in Watertown, NY some years ago but the county fair has a special place in my heart.

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i_am_randy@reddit

I grew up in Texas, so hell yea it was.

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theboxisempty@reddit

Our Wilson County Fair in Tennessee became the state fair a while back. But yes it was always a summer staple. And it has become that for my kids too.

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WheelLeast1873@reddit

Nope

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Tdanneman@reddit

Hey, I saw FloRida and Ludacris at the Illinois state fair a few years ago. So many white people.

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That_Damn_Samsquatch@reddit

Our county fair was for me. I was in 4-H from the age of 6 until I aged out at 19. Our family actually showed rabbits. We were very into them. Breeding them for breed standard. We actually did a number of state ARBA shows and did pretty good. I also took a lot of other projects. Photography, woodworking, nature space and music. Hell, I even took a Goldfish one year and actually won grand champion. I had no clue what I was even doing. When I walked into the rabbit barn with the trophy. My mom asked who I beat up. LOL With that many animals at the fair. We were there all day, every day. We would take one day to do rides. But as we got older, that faded out. They just weren't as fun anymore. We had a much better time hanging out with our 4-H friends. I was very active as a youth ambassador. So fair week was busy for me. Doing whatever our county agents needed us to do. Even if it was to just hang out and promote 4-H. Being there that much also gave me some neat opportunities. My last 3 years, I got to help the stage crews set up for the live acts in the evening. Our county was known for bringing in some fairly big acts of the 90's. I got to meet them all. Alabama, Toby Keith, Styx, Weird Al, JoDee Mesina, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Randy Travis, Aaron Tippon, 38 Special, Creedence Clearwater, Goo Goo Dolls, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rodgers, Sawyer Brown...just to name a few. I was in a band myself, so seeing how these big acts set up was really neat and a great learning experience.

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Rsubs33@reddit

I grew up outside of Philly and it was not. But live in NY now and regularly go granted we are not far.

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helikophis@reddit

County Fair here and it was excellent. I saw Jethro Tull at mine when I was like 17

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artfully_dejected@reddit

We didn’t go to the state fairs so much as the small town summer festivals. Things like the Coloma Chicken Chew.

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fshannon3@reddit

No, never really did the local fairs. I think my family went to the state fair once when I was a kid and that was it. And I've never been to our county fair until last year (I'm 47). Now...whenever my brother and I went to visit our family out west, the fair was kind of a big deal there. If we stayed long enough to actually go to the fair, we would. We and our cousins would put some entry in their fair; I would usually do some artwork...one year I made some pasta sauce and got second place. That was a fun fair. Sometimes we would have to come back home before the fair started, so we would have to make our exhibits before we left and leave them there.

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star_b_nettor@reddit

County Fair, yes. State Fair, no. Loved the county fair. Funnel cake, mmmm.

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brilliantpants@reddit

Nope. Grew up in Delaware, have never visited the state fair. There were other more local events in Wilmington that were important, though. The Holy Rosary and Saint Helena’s carnivals were a big deal, as well as the Greek festival, the Italian festival, and The Flower Market.

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wanna_be_green8@reddit

When i lived on the west coast we never went because of was close to 7 hours away. Our county fair was okay. Now we are in farm country and the state fair is less than 2 hours so we try to go. There are far more things to do than the little county fairs we went to before.

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Efficient-Video-9454@reddit

Our State Fair had already started going downhill, now it’s basically nonexistent. We still had an outstanding County Fair and there were a couple of regional fairs that were still ok. I would love to go to a Texas or some big Midwest State Fair sometime

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ElebertAinstein@reddit

From Iowa. Yes, the state fair (and butter cow) were a huge deal. But all my best memories came from the county fair. Once my friends and I got licenses, we would drive between all the county fairs to meet boys from neighboring counties.

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IowaJammer@reddit

Me too! Maybe we bumped into each other.

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ElebertAinstein@reddit

Perhaps. I grew up in NE Iowa and would also hit SE Minnesota state fairs. 😂

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The-Blue-Barracudas@reddit

Yes, it was and is still a big deal. Even got out of school for a fair day and kids got a free ticket each year. It helps that it’s close to where I live but probably not to those that live 2-3+ hours away.

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Fair_Blood3176@reddit

With Six Flags nearby, state fairs never passed by.

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misterguyyy@reddit

I'm not even sure if Florida has a state fair, but the Miami-Dade County fair, and the Broward County fair just north of it, was a huge deal and all my friends went. I know you probably don't think of agriculture when you think of Miami, but there was the same livestock, agricultural, and nature stuff that was represented on TV for smaller town fairs. It looked pretty much exactly the same as the smaller town fairs I saw on TV, just more square feet, more rides (pretty much the same amount of ride types w redundancy), and more people.

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zenjensan@reddit

Geelong Show, peak 70's

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Visual_Reception5924@reddit

Heck yeah. The NM State Fair was a big deal when I was younger. If I remember right, we got a couple of days off during the fall to go. Green Chili Corn dogs were the absolute bomb.

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greaterwhiterwookiee@reddit

Grew up outside Seattle. The Puyallup Fair was ALWAYS a big deal for us but we were poor af and getting to do anything where rides were concerned was amazing. So once a year we’d get our free ticket from school and they had “Dizzy Passes” on certain days for $20 and you could basically ride any and all rides. Plus the food, the animals, the shows, and the people watching was always memorable. When I became older and prices skyrocketed like anything else, it wasn’t nearly as much fun. Plus the population has boomed but the fairgrounds are relatively same size. All it means now is traffic will be worse than the already terrible traffic for a month and I get to tell my kids we can’t afford to go bc after food, rides, and inevitably buying something from the booths now and I’m suddenly $600 poorer. But to answer your question, to me and all my friends it was a huge deal.

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cmgww@reddit

Indiana here. Yes, it was and still is. The Indiana State fair is pretty solid, and the midway is usually provided by one of the better vendors in the country. Most county fairs are pretty decent, but it depends on the county. Elkhart county fair is one of the largest county fairs in the country. We just took our boys to it a few weeks ago. Thankfully 4H is still alive in Indiana

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PotentialPlum4945@reddit

It was the only place in Kansas I knew I could get a Gyro. It was worth being in middle school band just for that.

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noonesaidityet@reddit

Give me a good gyro and I will never forget your establishment. Other than seeing family, the only reason I'll willingly set foot in Florida is for a gyro at Hella's in Tarpon Springs.

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BeeswaxingPoetic@reddit

Not the state fair for me (too far away) but our local county fair was a Big Event every summer. It was at the end of summer and we'd see all our school friends and enemies there, like a huge reunion. My friends and I would go at noon and not leave until 10pm. Demo derby, ag barns, craft barns, fried donuts, caramel apples... all the good stuff.

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Interesting-Fly879@reddit

Haha, this sounds exactly like our county fair too!

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KingArthurKOTRT@reddit

The California State fair isn’t as big of a deal, but the LA County fair was a big deal for us growing up.

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moissan2nite@reddit

Summer festivals were a bigger deal in my part of the world than fairs. There was a county fair but it wasn’t a major event, unless maybe you were a 4H kid.

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noonesaidityet@reddit

Went to the Iowa State Fair a handful of times. It's fine if you just want to be a glutton for a day, which is the only reason why I'd go back.

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cranberries87@reddit

YES!!! I still remember finding out about the fair for the first time via TV commercials in kindergarten, and wanting to go. My mom made up all these reasons why we couldn’t go. But my dad surprised me one day after lunch at school and checked me out early to go to the fair. 😊

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firewifegirlmom0124@reddit

I grew up in Baltimore and we went to the Maryland State Fair every year. Took our kids every year once we had them. Then we moved to New Mexico and took the kids to that state fair every year. Now we live in South Dakota and still take our kids every year. It’s smaller here than either of the previous places but still fun and we never miss it!

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Mysterious_Fennel459@reddit

The county fair was a big deal for me and my brothers as a kid. Growing up, i realized my family must have spent a fortune every year we went because good lord, the food and rides are fcking spendy as an adult. Thankfully I dont have kids and all the rides make me motion sick no matter how much Dramamine I take so I dont have any reason to go anymore.

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DeadSharkEyes@reddit

I looooved the State Fair growing up. When I was old enough my mom would let me and my friends go off by ourselves and it was so exhilarating (this was also the early 90s). Now it’s super sketchy, the concerts are great but I haven’t been to the actual fair in years.

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Hour_Affect3046@reddit

I live in Dallas and the Texas State Fair is a monument to gluttony and indulgence. It’s amazing! Every year they have contests to see what food Texans can come up with. They announced the finalists today. https://www.fox4news.com/news/state-fair-texas-2025-big-tex-choice-award-finalists State Fair of Texas announces 2025 Big Tex Choice Award Finalists | FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth

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prettybutdumb@reddit

I grew up in Kansas and I never went to a state fair. Maybe a county fair once or twice? Last summer I saw your butter cow at the Iowa fair, but I was there for a concert in the grand stands not so much the fair (but I did enjoy it). I think some states are just more famous for their fairs than others?

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loureed1234@reddit

Bloomsburg Fair was legit a huge deal in PA.

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PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit

I only remember going once growing up. I was an animal and food girl so it's right up my alley, but it's a long drive and always seems to happen during the hottest week of the year, so don't think my parents were too keen to go, lol. I did have fun that one time. Got to see all the livestock, eat junk, and my dad got tickets to see Brooks and Dunn. And have enjoyed the fair as an adult.

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Delta-IX@reddit

Only the one time my high school marching band got to play in ours. But it was miserably hot in old wool uniforms

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StillhasaWiiU@reddit

I lived near our fair grounds, I went there multiple times a year every year.

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TheGuy1977@reddit

CA state fair was the best shit every year in my childhood.

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ElmerTheAmish@reddit

Yes! Growing up in the same county as the State Fair, it was easy to get to for us, so we often did. In fact, I got to see Weird Al for the first time at the Fair!

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No-Championship-8677@reddit

County fair, yes. Going to the state fair would involve driving over an hour each way. Our county fair was great so that’s where we went!

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red286@reddit

Canadian here -- actually went to a 4-H fair/expo when I was young visiting my grandparents in bumfuck nowhere (northern Okanagan region of BC). Also, here (western Canada) we have the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition), which I think is fairly similar to a state fair, with dozens of pavilions showcasing everything from cooking utensils to Chinese tourism, with food vendors offering deep-fried everything dotted around the place, and then there's PlayLand which is a permanent amusement park (although only open during the summer and around Halloween) attached to the PNE fairgrounds. I haven't been in ages (like 18 years I think), but I always loved the demolition derby and the SuperDogs show (trained dog tricks).

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Surlyllama23@reddit

I actually never went to the Texas State Fair as a kid. I grew up in a Dallas suburb. We got free tickets and a day off from school, but my parents never wanted to go. As an adult, I'm good with going once every 7 years or so.

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TallTXTrash@reddit

Takes that long to save up for a trip to the fair now.

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FlimsyTry2892@reddit

I don’t think my state has a fair

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illbejohnbrown@reddit

Yes. Looked forward every year to getting the best corn dog I would have all year. So good

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Feelinscrewd@reddit

MN state fair was a great time! I knew a few people who worked vendor booths there. The owners made enough money in those 10 days to retire for the rest of the year. Now that I'm in TX Id like to check it out here but its 8+ hours away

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lonely_nipple@reddit

No. The county fair, which was in my hometown, was a pretty big deal for us. MA doesn't have a state fair specifically, but the Big E is held there which kind of serves as the replacement state fair for several states. That one was usually too expensive for us to go to.

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Oceanbreeze871@reddit

Never went as a kid. Went a few times as an adult with my own kids…they thought it was lame. Too many people. Gross food. Gross bathrooms. lol

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schwing710@reddit

Definitely. The fair was walking distance from my house and directly behind the video store where I worked, which made it an ideal summer hang. We used to draw the re-entry stamp on our hands and sneak right in.

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RarelyHere1345@reddit (OP)

Gaming the system, I love it

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DisastrousFlower@reddit

absolutely in the midwest. county fair out east doesn’t compare.

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backwards-banana@reddit

For those of us from NY, there is no other fair except the New York State Fair. It was also the first in the nation https://nysfair.ny.gov/about/fair-history/

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Persist23@reddit

From NY and I’ve been taking my kid to Erie County Fair. The state fair is too far away to want to make the trek.

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cornerofgreystreet_@reddit

This! I didn’t even know counties outside of Onondaga did county fairs until I was an adult. Goats, wine slushees, and free concerts. Add on prime people watching, no reason to go anywhere else.

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goat_penis_souffle@reddit

I bounced around the tri-state area as a kid and for us there was no fair but the Westchester County Fair. Rides and attractions!

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zoom518@reddit

They ran the same ad constantly in the NYC area for years: https://youtu.be/cQ0fD3MgTew?si=0Td_pjLb1lSIjIw6

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TacticoolPeter@reddit

We were too close to the city for 4h do the state fair wasn’t really a thing for us except as maybe teens if there was a specific concert. I know it was huge where I live now because in the newspaper they run a weekly Looking Back column with key events from like ten, twenty five, and fifty years ago. Every year around fair time it has a note about someone winning grand champion or competing and placing real well at the state fair.

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kcchiefscooper@reddit

i am in the corner of 3 states and have never been to any of the state fairs. is that bad?

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zoominzacks@reddit

At least you’re being fair in avoiding fairs

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Smurfblossom@reddit

My family could only afford the county fair so that was a big deal. As an adult I could afford the state fair so it was a big deal for me.

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pixelpheasant@reddit

State, no. County, sort of. In NJ.

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zoominzacks@reddit

I enjoy the old musical “State Fair” where the judge gets hammered while eating mince meat pies, more than an actual state fair.

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Ok_Egg_2665@reddit

I’ve never been to the state fair. Plenty of county fairs though.

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Toclaw1@reddit

It was big deal in SC Please meet your parents at the rocket…

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gummi-demilo@reddit

My mom hated fairs so not really. I do have fond memories of attending the county fair with a friend, her brother and his friend in the early 90s; first time I rode the Gravitron. I went to the MN State Fair in 2018 when I still lived there. The crowds were a little too much for me, but the food and drink was great.

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OvenFriendly1818@reddit

Yes! Went to the Memphis State Fair every year. Loved it.

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Serious_Lettuce6716@reddit

North Carolina can confirm! Mid-October. For a couple years I lived very close to the state fairgrounds. That was not so fun when I had to drive to and from work through the fair traffic.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

Never been

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Deep-Interest9947@reddit

When I was a kid it was. But then once I was old enough to go off alone in a mall (like 11-14) I wasn’t really allowed to go to the state fair. Because it could be dangerous (according to my parents) and I probably would have been a brat if I separated from them. I also wouldn’t have been allowed to go from 15-18 but they didn’t know so much what I was doing then as long as I was gone on time (but I stopped caring to go)

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carryon4threedays@reddit

State fair was an 8 hour drive away growing up. Now the county fair, that’s another story.

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Lcky22@reddit

I loved going to the county fair. Mostly to see the animals.

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AndrewInMN@reddit

County fair was. The state fair is 3+ hours from where I grew up. We went a few times, but the county fair is what I looked forward to the most. Lots of good memories being there late Friday night with my friends in the 90s.

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BEniceBAGECKA@reddit

I do miss the state fair of Texas. I’d like to try and plan to go next year. I live in Nevada now tho lol

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t_bone_stake@reddit

Never bothered going to the NY State Fair growing up. Shoot, I didn’t even attend the county fair until my late 20s. Not my thing really

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metmerc@reddit

The county fair was, mostly because of the rides, which were actually free in my county. The state and county fair now are a much bigger deal. Since moving to Oregon, my wife and I have gone to the state fair almost every year. We're not really about the rides anymore, but all the other neat things the fair has to offer, like deep fried Oreos and horsemanship shows. Since my kids started doing 4H, we've added the county fair to the mix. It's next week, as a matter of fact.

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lemonheadlock@reddit

Yes! I grew up in Miami and our fair was called the Youth Fair. I don't know why. I'm sure it had some agricultural stuff but I don't remember seeing any of it. There was a huge student art show. I had a pastel drawing displayed there when I was in middle school. But mostly I remember all the rides and games and food.

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GetInTheHole@reddit

Both county and State fair were staples growing up. The county one was in my hometown as well, so we'd go there every single day. My grandparents took me to the State Fair until I could drive on my own. It was 70 miles away from where I lived, but we'd get there at least 2-3 days every summer.

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Bluevanonthestreet@reddit

Huge! We got a day off from school so we could attend. That fair isn’t around anymore.

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Li-RM35M4419@reddit

It was the County Fair where I lived.

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twirlerina024@reddit

The state fair was too far away, but our county fair was great. They had herding dog demonstrations, pig races, pony rides, and you could meet a lot of livestock. It was only for a week around 4th of July and I'd go multiple times, usually once with my family and then with various friends' and neighbors' families. When I hit middle school, I'd go with friends just about every night and it was so fun.

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OtherlandGirl@reddit

Only for the day off school :) I think I actually only went to the fair once in my life.

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Shinespark7@reddit

You mean the place where the nice men in white vans hand out candy?

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

That’s the state asylum

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

I think I went to a county fair once or twice. I did spend over half my youth outside the US though.

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

I don’t think my state had a state fair. If they did, we never went.

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PhotographStrict9964@reddit

I remember going to the state fair twice. It was in Birmingham and we lived about an hour and a half away, so kind of inconvenient. We always looked forward to the county fair in the fall though. When I was old enough to drive I remember my friends and I getting the bracelet so we could get unlimited rides. Tilt-a-whirl was always my favorite. And the food was amazing!

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SaveusJebus@reddit

Not really. We went other places (bc of military discount)... but never the fair. My mom took me like once and I remember riding the ferris wheel by myself bc she's scared of the rides.

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midnight-dour@reddit

Been to the Texas State Fair twice. Both times were the day of the Red River Shootout (which, actually being AT the game is still on my bucket list). Fletcher’s Corny Dog is best corn dog I ever had, but it’s still just a corn dog.

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RJRoyalRules@reddit

We bounced around a bit but typically went to both county and state fairs. Since we went as a family, my enjoyment level was entirely dependent on my age eg 5-11 happy, thrilled, 12+ horrible, miserable

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Shaydee_plantz@reddit

Yesss! Every year. I even took my first hit of acid at the fair in my teen years.

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CaptinEmergency@reddit

Midwest 4H kid, county and state fairs were a big deal growing up. I take my kids now but they only want junk food and complain about the heat.

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roaringstar44@reddit

Mid-Atlantic, our county fair was a huuuuuge deal. For both people that did 4-H and those that didn't. I went to our state fair after college and was disappointed because I liked our county one so much. I've also been to Orange and Los Angeles County fairs and I don't like them as much either.

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RebelScum77@reddit

When I was probably 5-10, we went every year. It was a huge deal. Hayrides, fun houses, candied apples, baby animals, corn dogs, french fries, The Twister ride, the rigged games. It was a magical experience.

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jamescockroft@reddit

Mom pulled me out of school one day every year for “cultural enrichment,” and we went to the fair. She moved away for a bit; I moved away for longer; she retired to a different state. But if she’s in town while the State Fair (or Fat Sock Show) is on, I take a day off from work for “cultural enrichment” and we go. Good times, and Tornado Taters (or whatever they’re called this year) FTW.

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NW_Forester@reddit

It was a big deal but I could rarely go, I think I went twice as a kid? We went to the county fair and nearby county fairs nearly every year though.

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BabymanC@reddit

Hoosier eh?

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