State Fairs: The All-American Tradition

State fairs are the quintessential American tradition. Everything from the food, the big tents, the crowds, the amusement rides, all remind me of a nostalgic American movie. Every year, I look forward to the state fair with the excitement of a ten-year-old kid. To me, the first day of the fair marks the beginning of the pumpkin picking season, the fall décor, the beautiful orange foliage, pumpkin-spice-on-everything-fad, and the cool chilly weather. I attended my first state fair two years ago after moving to Virginia. Last year, the State Fair of Virginia was cut short due to inclement weather. So it’s no surprise that I was so anxiously awaiting this year’s fair. Even more exciting was to come back with an added family member, our sweet Lucas, for the first time.

Despite the food being a little too greasy, the fair did not disappoint. After stuffing our faces, we walked around and saw the acrobats, the pig races, and slowly made our way to the farm animals. We didn’t get to see the 800lb giant pumpkin this year, but learned that The Meadow Farm, where the event has been held for the last eight years, was the birth place of the Triple Crown winner The Secretariat.

Of course, Liam got to climb up on a few tractors, and I had one or two fried Oreos!

Towards the end of the day, I met an older gentleman who told me he has been coming to the fair ever since he was about Liam’s age. He told me he visits the fair every year, and often buys a season pass so that he can take his time and enjoy everything the fair has to offer. Not a bad idea, since I felt that we only got to see a small snippet of the fair in our short afternoon there.

As the kids grow up, I look forward to visiting the fair with them each year and make it our fall tradition. I just hope that they can be as excited about it as I am 🙂