(38) Visit 10 Festivals of Fairs (03/20)Festival: Woodstock Fair
Location: Woodstock, CT
Website: www.woodstockfair.com/
When: September 3, 2011
Rating: 3- Stars
I usually go to a couple town or county fairs every summer but sadly this year I had not gone to any before this trip to the Woodstock Fair. It is held every year on Labor Day weekend and with the sun shining brightly we all got together and made the journey south to the little town of Woodstock, CT.
We easily found parking for the bargain price of $3 for the day in someone’s back yard. I am not sure the damage to the yard is worth the $3 per car these people get but their yard was packed with easily 75 cars. I suppose if they park 100 cars a day over 4 days that would be $1200. Maybe it is worth it.
After a short walk we hit the first entrance. Marked a service entrance and surrounded by fire trucks and other safety vehicles we found that patrons could also but tickets and enter the fairgrounds here. It actually was a perfect place to enter as it brings your right to the main building and is centrally located in the park.
Given that it was now lunch time and none of us had eaten the first thing we did was explore the concessions for something tasty to satisfy our grumbling stomachs. My mom took the first thing that sounded good and got a crab sandwich. I settled on pad thai and garlic chicken like my dad and Dan choose a corn dog.
After getting some food we explored the better living building and took in the sites at the Ox pull. I learned that an Ox is nothing more than a castrated bull. We watched as they pulled the tremendous weight some easily and some not so easily. We watched and it was obvious that team work was important as they slowly increased the weight in increments of 500lbs.
The sun was warm and we were drinking water faster then we could keep our water bottles full. After an hour or so of that in the hot sun we decided to move along and explore more of what the fair had to offer.
We enjoyed the Health Craft demonstration of their waterless cooking pans and sampled the food they cooked. We also explored some of the vendors and their novelty items. We saw everything from lint rollers and vacuums to security systems and heaters.
Tired of people trying to sell us things we really don’t need or want we headed to the kart racing track. We found a great spot along the fence with a view of the track and the grand stand. It was pretty exciting as we watch the field of drivers racing around the small track. The roar of their little motors and the strong smell of burnt rubber in the air you couldn’t help but cheer for a driver you didn’t know but was leading the pack.
The unmistakable smell of fried dough distracted us from the sounds and excitement of the track and we wandered off looking for that powdered sugar covered fried dough. No fair is complete unless I have fried dough and this surely didn’t leave me anything but satisfied. After a long day in the sun and walking around we all decided that after a quick walk through the crafts tent we were ready to leave.
On our way out the crowds were starting to increase as the fair really comes alive at night when the amusement rides are running at full steam and the temperatures are cooler and more comfortable. For us the experience was over.
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