Town fair {Maine Monday 5}

Mornin', everyone! If you're on the East Coast, I hope you're safe and didn't suffer any damage during the hurricane. Things weren't nearly as bad as expected here in Maine. We got about three inches of rain and some gusty winds, but no broken branches or other damage. We never even lost power! As I see footage of flooding in other parts of the Northeast, I'm counting our blessing that all we ended up with were a bunch of leaves on the lawn that need to be raked up eventually.

Can you believe it's the end of August already? Where did this month go? I feel like I was just doing Maine Monday for the end of July...and now it's time for August's! This month, I've got photos from...

                          ...the town fair.

Early fall in Maine means it's fair season, and there are a bunch in towns around the state. They all have agricultural roots, but many now include midways with rides, games and other modern amusements. My hometown fair actually happens in August. I absolutely adore the fair! It's pretty much the same every year, but it's one of those traditions that I just love.

Usually the first thing we do as soon as we show up is wander along the strip of food vendors and get something to eat. The hubs is a big fan of this Mr. & Mrs. Sausage booth.

Once we've stuffed our faces, we head over to the barns to check out the animals. Lots of cows...

cuuuute piglets...

and some goats too (it totally looks like this goat is smiling!)

The hubs is usually less impressed with the farm animals since he had them growing up, but for this town girl, farm animals are about as cute as it gets!

There's lots of agricultural activities too, like a kids' pig scramble and cattle log hauling competitions -- which, I found out this year, is a team of two cattle that have to pull a light log behind them and navigate through a series of cones, with the handler giving them verbal direction. I was too busy trying to figure this out to take pictures.

No good town fair is complete without an exhibition hall, where locals submit their wares -- like best tomatoes, best apple pie, best quilt -- hoping to earn a blue ribbon. It's like a little slice of old-time Americana.

After touring the barns and checking out the exhibition hall, it's time to walk around the midway and take in the sights.

Usually this includes another food-booth detour for a sweet treat. I cannot leave the fair without a bag of these hot, fresh, deliciously-bad-for-you mini doughnuts. The dough is plopped into this fryer, then the doughnuts are flipped by little levers a couple times before being flipped onto a tray and scooped into a paper bag.

Then, you head to the sugar station, pour all kinds of sugar in that bag and shake it up to coat those yummy, hot doughnuts. OMG sooo good. (No photo of this, because I was too busy gobbling them up!)

We don't usually do the rides (mostly because I can't get the hubs on any of them!) or games, but I'm a little ashamed to admit that we usually like to watch the demolition derby. We sadly didn't catch it this year, but let me tell you, watching cars crash into each other, flinging mud and sending smoke into the air, is pretty awesome, in a redneck, this-seems-like-a-parody-but-it's-real kind of way.

Fair lights at night...love it!

Have you ever been to a fair? Are you as crazy about them as I am? Does that photo of the cow with its tongue in its nose totally gross you out? :)

Have a great Monday, all!

Check out all the past Maine Mondays here!