I had never been, so when my friend Anne called and inquired if I wanted to go with her and Hugh to the Woodstock Fair, I replied instantly “Sure!”  I offered to drive the three of us, and shortly after 1 pm, we set off.   I wasn’t in familiar territory, so I’m not exactly sure how we got to the fairgrounds.  First we detoured past the Solair Nudist Camp and gawked at the ‘Mark Castle’ in Southbridge, then I think we took a left onto 197 which eventually intersects with 169 South, which took us into Woodstock.  We had hoped to arrive at the Fair around 2, but we didn’t get there until well after 3 pm, as we ran into a long line of fair-bound traffic just north of Woodstock.  We crawled through Woodstock Center with its famous Roseland Cottage and pulled into the first parking area we saw, which was managed by a non-profit group.  We were glad enough to pay the $5 in order to get out of the car.  It was a beautiful late summer day, sunny with a slight breeze, so perhaps more people than usual decided to enjoy part of the Labor Day weekend at this agricultural and entertainment extravaganza.  According to the website:

In 1809, Woodstock, Brooklyn and Pomfret founded the Pomfret United Agricultural Society, the first in Connecticut.  The name was changed to Windham County Agricultural Society in 1820 and fairs were held every other year in Pomfret and Woodstock.

Though the first ‘Exhibition’ was held in 1859, the first ‘Fair’ was held in 1860, making this the 150th year, as proclaimed by this sand sculpture:

We didn’t have a map of the fairgrounds, but we didn’t really need it, as we decided to simply wander around and take in the sights.  Naturally, one of the first of these sights was the giant pumpkin display!

I loved looking at the animals.  I took this photo of some brown cows, though I wish I had taken a photo of black and white cows; one of the exhibitors told us that they often clip the cow’s hair around its black spots, thus outlining them in blue and making them look rather cool.

Here is a prize chicken:

We admired all the other animals as well, including the pigs, sheep, and rabbits, and also strolled through the exhibits of produce, flowers, baked goods, and crafts.

That’s it for my photos.  Anyway, I don’t think you want to see me covered in powdered sugar from the famous fried dough, which of course I indulged in.  There were acres of food booths, most of it junk food, but hey, it’s the Fair.  We didn’t go overboard:  Anne ordered a salad for dinner and Hugh found a place serving veggie burgers for us vegetarians (mine was quite tasty).  After we ate, we wandered over to the Go-Kart track and watched as these miniature race cars did laps.

Around 8 pm, we headed for the Main Stage at the center of the Fairgrounds and found standing room only.  The featured musical group was Blue Oyster Cult, a heavy metal band from the 70s (“the American answer to Black Sabbath”).  I do remember the group by name but would not have recognized any of their hits.  We stayed to listen to their opening song, but then left for the delights of the Midway.  I don’t play the games (aren’t they rigged?) nor do I go on the rides, but I like seeing people having fun, which I’m sure they were, despite the continuous screaming.  I honestly don’t think the rides are unsafe, and the kids were probably screaming for the hell of it.  Even the child who got stuck at the top of the rock-climbing wall smiled and waved at the bystanders once he had been brought back to ground.  And we did see people walking around with stuffed animals, so there were some straight-shooters in the crowd, or perhaps they were just lucky.  Beyond the whirling lights, we discovered a small collection of antique cars.

Around 9:30, we were ready to call it a day.  It was dark by then, and also a bit chilly (thank goodness we remembered to bring jackets), but the traffic leaving the fair was light and we were soon back in Southbridge, tired and content.