Jac and I arrived in PA. on Thursday, a day before my show on Friday. I like to come down early to make sure I don’t hit any traffic or run into back ups that always take place on the CT, NJ and PA turnpikes. As we arrived in West Chester PA. Jac saw a sign for the Goshen Country Fair…..”LET’S GO” she said….Since we had nothing better to do and I had already dropped off all of the clothing, sketches etc that I lug down for each show , I said LET’S GO!. We stopped at the hotel first to check in….got directions to the fair and off we went. I had never been to a real country fair with animals and pie contests and the best and biggest squash contest etc. If you have been you know what I mean. There is a picture of me, but I accidentally cut off my head when I was making the collage and didn’t notice it….now I can’t prove I was there….unless you can recognize my legs!!!The pretty little blond girl won a BLUE RIBBON for best calf. I think it was part of the 4H club. As a kid I always wanted to be a member of the 4 H club….oh well another dream unfulfilled! LOL… I loved the lambs in their little costumes with their hoods and coats….especially the ones in the Leopard and Zebra print. I don’t know what they were for, but they were the most fashion inspiration I got…..maybe to keep them clean before they were to be judged??? There were lots of places to eat and drink and tons of rides for the kiddies, and their were TONS OF KIDDIES….most screaming at the top of their lungs. I didn’t find any “fashion” inspiration from all the of people piling in and waiting on long lines for tickets to the rides. Lots of stands with different games where you could win a stuffed animal. After giving the place a good walk around, about 35 minutes, and we were starting to smell like hay…..it was time to…….LET’S GO!……Now I can cross that off my list of things I’ve never done………..Country Fair…..CHECK……….Actually we had a good time……………………….we always do.
Aaaa, ha, ha, ha, Hilarious pictures. I just saw them last night. Priceless. The closest this city girl has been to the County Fair is a “field trip” sometime during Elementary School to the farm, or dairy. Although my mother did tell me my dad took me to rodeos, Hee, Haa! I don’t remember, but I saw pictures of myself in a red cowgirl hat, and red plaid shirt, and red corduroy pants.
Now Louis, The REAL fun is entering your home grown/made goods into your county fair! Back when we lived in rural Southern Maryland prior to moving here, I used to work every year at our AAUW book sale. We used the proceeds for scholarship money for local girls going off to college. The building next to our book sale housed the exhibits/entries for clothing. I thought, “What the heck?! I really should enter some of the things I have sewn or knitted.” So the next year I entered several things, including a wool tweed suit made from a Vogue designer pattern. Now I LOVE to tailor! I won the Grand Prize as well as many other ribbons, including for things I had knitted for Old Grumpy and our youngest son, who was a toddler at the tie. I won a couple other Grand Prizes, one for a quite complicated coat with a hood and a Ralph Lauren wool “Brideshead” kind of wool suit and linen blouse with a ruffled jabot with lace trim. Before I knew it I started getting calls from women who wanted me to make clothes for them! Now that was nerve-wracking for me except for one woman who was exactly the same size.
Not to be outdone, Old Grumpy decided to enter veggies he had grown, some canned produce he had made, and his specialty spaghetti sauce. Now he got excellent advice from one of my AAUW friends to feed his veggies with Fish Emulsion about two weeks before the competition as it really spiked up the color. In very A-TYPICAL fashion he actually followed her advice with the result of many ribbons, including a Blue for his spaghetti sauce!
I miss those days, especially when the kids I knew started entering their things to be judged at the fair. You and Jac need to look around to see what you can enter and join the fun! I’m sure there must be a Needlepoint competition :-).
Well if we lived in n area where there were country fairs that we new about….maybe I would think about it, but if I won anything I would feel very guilty taking an award away from a novice.
obviously didn’t spell check!
HUH? Both OG and I were novices in what we were entering. No categories in either of our professional lives! Anything you whipped up in your kitchen or grew yourself in your garden would qualify for a “novice” classification. :-). But sorry you have to miss out on the fun as you have no county fair.
I couldn’t win anything the squirrels are eating my tomatoes and what they don’t eat the bunnies get! …LOL
Louis, bunnies? Are you saying “the girls” tolerate bunnies on the property ???
No….they bark and chase the squirrels and bunnies all the time, but they always get away……..We never had rabbits…someone must of had pet or two and let them loose….now they are all over the place!
Loved seeing your photos and reading about you and your wife’s experience at the county fair! I love to see what clothing and quilts are shown at fairs like that, leaving the animals for the last thing to visit (often because of the smells). Looking forward to getting my orders from the last show as there’s a little feel of fall in the air still around here.
Country airs are all about the food! What did you splurge on?
Fairs, that is.
Are you kidding…do you think for one minute Jac would let me eat any of that fattening stuff!
No deep-fried Snickers bars? No fried butter? No funnel cakes with whipped cream?
She wants to keep you around for years and years to come. Very sweet.
BTW, was that a new suit? Looked like you were rocking the newer slimmer leg trousers. Very Hedi Slimane.
That suit you wore for the show was the first thing I noticed and the tie was the second. You looked GREAT!
Hi Louis,
How fun! Our daughter was a 4H member from 7th grade through freshman year of college, in a community club with a wide variety of projects from cooking to sewing to electricity, woodworking etc.; no farm animals. My husband and I were leaders for 15 years. As you can imagine, we spent many an hour working on projects and at fairs. Yes, the “coats” on the sheep are to keep those little lambs in perfect condition for their judging; the kids eat and sleep with them during the fair to be sure they’re well pampered 🙂 We taught many a girl and a few boys to be competent with a sewing machine and needles, AND to think about design. Competition was a huge part of the learning process, first on a local level, then regional, state, regional state and then national. My daughter’s last outfit, a beautiful light Italian wool suit in a very complicated Burda pattern with intricate multiple pleats, went to national competition, thanks to the great help she got from my own seamstress/designer mother. We’d have been thrilled to make you an honorary leader, member and visiting expert and judge! My daughter is a university library director with an armload of degrees, and a 7 year old son, and she still sews and does her own tailoring 🙂 Anytime you want to “be a 4H member”, just drop me a note LOL. So glad you had a fun afternoon.
Welcome to the farm, Louis. You’re lucky to have left only smelling like hay!
Loved your photos, Louis….brought back childhood memories of going to an Ohio county fair every summer. I recall not liking the smell of the animal barns. : ) But the rest was pretty much fun for a child.
My husband and I and our 4 kids worked at the Kiwanis both at our county fair every year for many years, but now it is just my husband and I. I laughed out loud when you said there was no fashion inspiration in the crowds. There is always jaw dropping fashion but not the good kind!! Glad you were able to mark it off your bucket list. I enjoyed the show and bought a few things that I know I will love. Thanks!!