Time to prepare your entries for the Mendocino County Fair!

It’s coming to the middle of August and the last month of summer is upon us. The apples are starting to get ripe, the tomatoes are coming on strong and the squash is overrunning everyone. This means it is about time for the County Fair.

We are fortunate to have a lovely, small town fair in our own backyard. It is just a three day event, but a lot is packed into those three days. Friday at noon the carnival starts and the kids are let out of school early so they can go enjoy the rides. Also on Friday is most of the 4-H and FFA events/shows. So the kids are also actively displaying their crafts and animals that day. It’s also the best day to see the hall of flowers, while everything is fresh, particularly the cut flowers - though on a hot day, that hall is the place to go to cool off no matter the state of the displays.

Saturday of the fair has all the usual fair events - the carnival, lots and lots of food vendors, different entertainers, usually including a hypnotist and/or a magician. It’s a good day to walk around and see all the livestock. Saturday evening is the rodeo and often there’s a dance after that.

Sunday is the sheep dog trials, probably the largest draw of the fair, followed by the parade down highway 128. It’s the last chance to look at all of the exhibits - the paintings, photos, needlework, quilts and vegetables.

The most important part of the fair, though, is you. The only reason there are things to see and do at the fair is because members of the community - the whole County - participate. If you grow a flower or vegetable, this is the time to show it off; either a freshly picked fruit or vegetable or, if you can or otherwise preserve it, enter that.. If you sew, crochet, knit, paint, take photos or any other kind of craft, now is the time to show that off. Let’s not forget the amazing baked goods - if that’s your strength, show it off. This is not an inclusive list - you can check out the Fair’s website for more information and ideas of what to enter here. You have until September 10th to do your online entries. Get to it! I look forward to seeing what you got.