Take a break fair days ahead – Ontario Argus Observer

Despite a harsh winter that took a toll on buildings and facilities, the Malheur County Fair is ready to open for another week of fun and excitement. That is all thanks to the hard work of Lynelle Christiani and members of the fair who have gotten things back on track and ready for the big show.

Attending the fair is an opportunity to take a break from the rest of a busy summer, and enjoy an iconic piece of Americana that celebrates rural life and family traditions. Beyond the opportunity to catch up with friends you might not have seen since last years fair, there are any number of events and activities to take part in. Whether it is kids karaoke or Mickey and the Motorcars, there will be opportunities to sing and dance every day. In addition to jamming with the kids or the Motorcars, you can enjoy some gear jamming action in the tractor driving contest and bone jarring action in the rodeo.

One of the centerpieces of the fair has to be the animals. Spend some time viewing all of the different animals in the livestock barns and see how hard the 4-H and FFA kids have worked in raising their animals and getting them ready to show. In addition to the rabbits, chickens, goats, pigs, steers and other assorted livestock, keep your eye out for another special animal. Oregon State Universitys very own Benny the Beaver will be roaming the grounds on Saturday.

Of course, one of the biggest reasons to attend the fair is to enjoy the food. It may not be low calorie, but hey, the fair does only come around once a year. So grab a snow cone or turkey leg to snack on while wandering the grounds. One unofficial game that you can play is guessing which fair foods you are munching on may have a local connection.

There are a few obvious hints come that to mind. If youre enjoying a hamburger, there is a chance the beef came from Malheur County. It seems there are about ten times as many cattle in the county as there are people, which might be expected for Oregons leading cattle producing county. On the other hand, I will guess that the lemons that went into your lemonade probably didnt come from Malheur County. However, it is quite possible that the sugar that went in to sweeten the lemons came from one of our local sugar beet fields. If you are enjoying a scone or a funnel cake (some of my personal favorites), its not just the sugar that might be local. The dough and batter for those just might be made with flour harvested from a local wheat field and with milk from one of our local dairies. If you happen to go for a bag of kettle corn, it likely has a local connection. The Crookhams Company in Caldwell is one of the nations leading purveyors of popcorn seed. If instead of kettle corn, you opt for corn on the cob that too probably originated in the Treasure Valley. Our valley produces the majority of the countrys sweet corn seed. And of course, if you are participating in the onion decorating contest, those bulbs were lifted from a nearby field.

If you need to prioritize your time at the Fair and when to grab a snack, you can find the schedule of events at the Fairs website http://www.malheurcountyfair.com/ or you can pick up a Fair Book at the Extension Office. Benny and I will see you there.

Stuart Reitz is a Malheur County Extension Office agent. The views and opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily represent those of The Argus Observer.

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Take a break fair days ahead - Ontario Argus Observer