My husband, Olin, and I have been regular supporters of our local fair, the Williamson County Fair, for more than 10 years.
First, we were volunteers through the Master Gardeners Association, and also spent time manning booths during the fair. The Little One’s Barnyard is one of our favorites! How could it not be?! We love getting to watch the kids learn about agriculture and farm animals by milking cows and other activities. It’s so much fun to watch.
This year, we’re bronze-level supporters of the fair and will have banners up sporting the Stoney Creek Farm logo! So if you’ll be at the Williamson County Fair, be looking for that!
If you’ve never been to the fair before, you should know that fair contests, like baking, are part of the fun! You would think that as much as I preserve food and bake that I would have entered some of my homemade items into the fair contests… but alas, I could never part with the hard work from our garden.
Do you know how long it takes to can green beans? I’d have to charge $20 a quart to be able to part with one!
BUT my friend, Judy Payton, used my “Mama’s Candy Pickle” recipe and entered these scrumptiously delicious pickles in the fair several years ago and won first place. You can bet that made me proud!
Needless to say, attending your local county or state fair is so much fun. If you haven’t attended one yet, I’ve got 3 good reasons that you should make it a point to visit your next local fair!
The fair is fun for the whole family.
The fair is guaranteed for PG fun for the entire family.
Most fairs feature kid-friendly activities, like petting zoos and interactive activities that are both fun and educational!
The Williamson County Fair does a great job with offering fun activities that will engage kids of any age—the Youth Village offers an entire space for demonstrations, displays, and hands-on activities to teach kids all sorts of things, from gardening to robotics to STEM-related topics. Your kids will have a blast, and you will, too!
Another crowd favorite (and as I mentioned, one of my favorites!)—the Children’s Barnyard. Mini donkeys, baby ducks, a mama llama… guaranteed, you AND your kids will love a stop at the barnyard.
The fair is educational.
Most of the population today is at least 3 generations away from a farm. In fact, 98% of us have never experienced life on a farm at all, putting us at risk to be deeply disconnected from how our food is grown and cultivated.
When you attend your local county or state fair, you’re given the opportunity to get “up close and personal” with different farming practices!
For example, at our local Williamson County Fair, there are live demonstrations to the public, like a cow milking demonstration or a stock dog demonstration.
The fair supports your local community.
Attending your local fair supports your community.
The Williamson County Fair gives back to our community through several programs:
- $226,229 returned to area high schools
- $27,800 awarded in scholarships
- 38,718 pounds of food donated to organizations
- $179,720 improvements to Williamson County Ag Expo
And that’s all thanks to people like you showing up and attending every single year!
Not only that, but you’re supporting your neighbor, too. Most fairs offer competitions in everything from agriculture, kids’ 4-H, culinary arts, creative arts, and more! (Remember my friend, Judy, who won the contest?) So make it a point to come out and cheer on your community members’ contest entries.
Find Stoney Creek Farm at the 2019 Williamson County Fair!
The Williamson County Fair will take place from August 2 – 10, 2019—that’s 9 whole days of fair fun!
Stop by the Pick TN Booth to see us! Olin and I will be manning the booth part of the time, and we’d love to say hi.
Olin and his dad, Carl, built that adorable display piece for the Pick TN Booth that you see at the top of this post—it’s a 1920s Ford Farm Truck made from recycled and repurposed materials… sustainable AND cute! So come find the Pick TN Booth and chat with us!
