Collections on Show at a County Fair

Mid-August. A great time of year to go to a County Fair. The Fella, the Baby, the Friend, and I went to the Clackamas County Fair on the last day. Usually I like to go on one of the first days, but this year our schedules meshed on a Sunday. I was impressed that everything still looked pretty good: the veggies were a bit shriveled, but holding on; many of the dahlias looked gorgeous that I think they must have been replaced; and the cakes and pies were not buzzing with flies, so those glass cases must help.

Nachos with creamy cheese, grange hall displays, a million kinds of pie, fancy chickens, piglets and pygmy goats, 4-H-made tunics and educational poster boards. All these are highlights.

But a must-see for me is the arts and craft building. The basement is always a bit spooky with random flowers and vegetables that are not displayed with the other flowers and vegetables in another area of the fairgrounds. Why are they in this basement? How are they different than the other flowers and veg? We give a quick sweep through here and head up to the main floor, where the cakes, cookies, and canned goods are on display and the table settings wrap around the room. This year there was a new category.

Chocolate cake made by men! I told the Fella he should definitely enter next year, as he has a few chocolate cakes under his belt. I loved that the fair poobahs decided the men needed their own category in which to compete. Bless them. From the main floor we go up to my favorite part, the hot and creaky second floor, where they hang the quilts, paintings, and photography, and house under glass all sorts of hand-made artifacts: from dresses to baby books.

One of the most amusing aspects on this floor is the collections. I am not a collector. I think knick-knacks take up too much space. To know that a person has amassed an assortment of an all-the-same something and decided to put it in the fair is endlessly fascinating. Don't get me wrong, I have interest in many things. I like my cooking equipment and my set of Betsy-Tacy books and the books about those books. But I don't know if I have a collection worthy of entering in a fair.

One of the first collections that I recall from a fair several years ago was famous buildings--Taj Mahal, Frank Lloyd Wright--made out of Popsicle sticks, done by a 90-year-old man. Both handmade and a collection. But this year's collections were the best I had ever seen.

Gone with the Wind fanaticism

J-E-L-L-O

Soap Savers? What are these things?

Thanks Collector and Fair-enterer. Now we know. 

British Royal Family Collection

Audrey Hepburn. Who doesn't love her?

Overall, the collections were entertaining and educational. I especially thought of my friend, Jen, who loves Gone with the Wind, the Royal Family, and traveling back in time, and who had to miss the fair this year. So, Jen, this post is for you.

Tired fair-goer