There’s nothing like the state fair

There is something about going to the state fair that takes us to a better place…a place where we can stroll the midway eating cotton candy while barkers shout at us trying to get our hard-earned dollars; a place where the Ferris wheel climbs high and the breezes cool us off on a hot August night.

Sure, in the harsh light of office life, thoughts of the fair seem like stolen moments from our youth, a time before we were too busy to just have innocent fun for a few hours.

But that’s what it was—and what it still is.

It’s not the manufactured world of Disney or the voyeuristic adventure that is the Ocean City boardwalk. It’s a place that, but for fashions and a few rides, is not so different than it was 20, 50 or 100 years ago. It’s a place filled with families and music, the smell of popcorn and candy corn in the air. It’s the kind of place we can take our kids and watch them run around laughing while we enjoy an ice cream with no television or e-mail to distract us.

Where else can we find that?

What are your memories of the Maryland State Fair? Was it a family tradition to go each year? Do you take your kids every year?

Let us know what your fair experience was like.

—LOUIS LLOVIO, Business Writer