Mondays are for dreaming: A country fair

Ever since Tommy saw the Summer 2009 issue of Vermont Life, which contained a photographic essay about summer fairs, he’s wanted to go to one. It may well have been the cover photo of the magazine that seized his imagination, showing as it did a Ferris wheel lit up and spinning, its cars nothing but a shimmering orange blur. It would be hard to find a more romantic and alluring image for a seven-year-old boy.

Almost every county in Vermont has a fair, with rides and livestock, and pie-eating contests. This means that most weekends in the summer you can find one and eat your fill poutine or fried dough topped with powdered sugar and maple syrup. We were lucky this year that the Washington County Fair and Field Days coincided with our visit so that we could fulfill Tommy’s desire.

To a grown up’s eyes, this fair was small and a little shabby. There were only five rides and the biggest one, The Gravitron, wasn’t working the entire time we were there. This was despite the continual efforts of a grease-covered man who periodically emerged from its guts to smoke a cigarette. Another ride, The Scrambler, had balance problems if the people on it weren’t distributed properly. The inflated slide, which was shaped like a monster truck, reeked of mildew.

But the children noticed none of this. Although it was stinking hot when we arrived around 5, they raced toward the small assemblage of tents like it was Shangri-la. They started off the evening with horse ride, and Teddy sang “Jingle Bells” lustily for his three turns round the ring on Beau, the chocolate brown he selected. This was followed by a very hot spell on the Moonbounce, a cotton candy Italian Ice, some rides, a quick viewing of the University of Vermont dressage team (although Teddy likes horses, he really wasn’t interested in watching anyone else ride them), and then a dinner of hamburgers, hotdogs; French fries; and (much to my grateful surprise) American Flatbread pizza.

One of the featured events of the fair’s opening day was the “Parade of Mascots.” It was so hot and the fair was so small that the mascots didn’t so much parade as they sauntered around, hugging children and giving them high fives as mascots of course must do.

Teddy, who never met an adult disguised as an animal he didn’t like, was delighted to encounter Bump the Moose, who represents the Vermont Frost Heaves; Winnie the Pooh; Elmo;and a giant frog advertising a country music station. He had to make sure that everyone got a hug.

After we ate, we made our way over to the agricultural tent to see Vermontica, the state’s Dairy Spokescalf. Tommy was very impressed that the unnamed schoolchild who selected the calf’s name won a year’s supply of ice cream. We also saw a baby yak and numerous miniature goats, which the owners clearly viewed more as children than farm animals, calling them “Our Loving Family.”

My camera battery died at this moment, which meant that I missed taking pictures of Tommy petting the incredibly soft and sweet llamas and alpacas from My Garden of Hesperides, a ranch that rescues abandoned or abused animals and encourages their agricultural use.

I also didn’t capture the boys tearing through the Wacky Shack. Matt and I dubbed this the world’s smallest and lamest funhouse. But at least it had a façade offensive and silly enough to make for some good viewing while we waited, including as it did many a buxom lass, a drunk policeman, and what I think was actually supposed to be a drunk baby.

And lame or no, we did have to wait while the boys spent a good fifteen minutes running from start to finish over and over in a pack of other kids. Sometimes five or six of them would be trying to make a full 360-degree turn in the rotating tunnel, their necks in absolute peril, while the young man meant to supervise the ride looked out over the midway with a bored expression on his face.

And of course we played a few games and won a few prizes. In addition to a small stuffed turtle and a purple trumpet, we had the good fortune to bring home this item:

Upon receipt of this glorious toy, Teddy promptly wrapped it around his head, which disappeared entirely from view. For a reason that I really don’t understand it has a bell inside and makes a most unsnake-like tinkling sound.

After some cotton candy, the boys had to take another turn on The Scrambler and to ricochet down the bouncy slide five or six more times. We stayed until it was fully dark. The boys’ hands and faces were sticky with cotton candy and sweat and their hair smelled sweet and vaguely musty as we made our way back to the car to the sounds of the crickets and cicadas, the purple cool of the mountains surrounding us. When I looked back at the illumined midway I could smell hay and grease but I also saw the seductive glimmer of the lights against the late-summer sky. Childhood magic. Dreamworthy indeed.

What are you dreaming of this week? Please feel free to share a link below. Questions? See About Monday Dreaming.