Steuben County Fair

My aunt and uncle live in Bath, New York, which is the county seat of Steuben County. Which means that every summer, the county fair rolls into town for a week. When I was a kid, it was one of my favourite things to do in Bath - and we were lucky enough to be around when it was on this year, so I took my kids (and my mother & cousin, both of whom grew up in Bath) along to check it out. It was remarkably similar, as it happens - a few different rides, but my cousin Terri says that many of the rides are even in the same locations in the fairgrounds that she remembers.



One of the things we liked to do was visit the one-room schoolhouse - here are the kids pretending to study their readers while my mom talks to one of the folks there about her dad (my grandfather), who was once the school superintendent for Steuben County (not to mention, author of the no-doubt very exciting work, Rural Education in Steuben County - that's him, pictured below on a display board in the schoolroom).





The kids were more interested in this type of thing (above) though they also had a bit of time for this type of thing (below). The most interesting chicken - who had a gorgeous, dramatic, tuft of feathers on his head - didn't want to hold still for a photo...



...but then, back to this sort of thing...







We did have a look at the exhibits, including some quilts (better displayed than the Howard County fair, I have to say, where everything was behind plastic - I know it keeps them safe, but they are so hard to see!)



And of course, people had to have their photos taken in a potato...





...even Grandma (yes, this is the reason I tend to hold the camera!)

I didn't ride the rides in general - I like them fine, just don't want to pay extra for them - but I did go on the ferris wheel, largely to be able to take an aerial photograph, but also because I love the views!






We went in the late afternoon, so that we'd be able to stay until dark, when it gets really pretty....



...and we finished the evening off with Alex trying to win a prize on the midway (he did - a stuffed toy, I'm sure you will all be shocked to hear!)