Going To The Fair! by DL Larson

The 125th Sandwich Fair started yesterday.  My husband and I plan to spend most of the day there today.  Sandwich is about 70 miles southwest of Chicago and one of the biggest fairs in Illinois.  It's a great mesh of country meets the city.  The aisles and buildings are full of crafts, food vendors, clothing vendors, home businesses, farm animals, farm machinery from many eras, plus the regular carnival rides and booths.

Many local folks visit on Thursday and Friday before the mass of city folk flood the streets on the weekend.  The varied shows are affordable and can be purchased beforehand or usually the day of the event. 

Some of my favorite things are:
- fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls
- lemonade shake-up
- visiting the rabbit tent
- taking a ride on the steam engine train
- funnel cake
- seeing the homegrown produce - the giant pumpkins!
- visiting with friends we see at the fair
- Faye's porkchops
- watching the sheep dogs herd their animals
- going to the concert on Friday night

I could go on and on.  The fair is shaded by many large trees, so there is always a place to get out of the sun's heat and plenty of benches to simply sit and rest.  And that brings me to why it's so fun to attend the fair.  As a writer, I love to people watch!  I can gather in ideas like a kid licking an icecream cone.  I've written ideas down on many occassions so I don't forget exactly what it was that caught my eye.

If anyone is looking for something to do this weekend, come on out to the Sandwich Fair.  It's a lovely time of year and I guarantee there is plenty to do. 

Til next time ~

DL Larson