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Beyond compare — The Fair
Canfield Fair
Gallery
By Madelyn Hastings
Editor’s note: Madelyn Hastings is a photographer intern at The Vindicator and writes about her impression of attending her first Canfield Fair:
The Canfield Fair is more than just something to appease the kids on a Friday night.
It’s a yearly tradition for families throughout the Mahoning Valley. It is an event that thousands of kids age 1 to 100 can look forward to all year long. It brings everyone in the community together, and it creates everlasting memories.
Swarms of cars start filling the 175 acres of parking at the fairgrounds Wednesday morning, their occupants lining up to see the sights, taste the food and listen to the entertainment. The warm smell of fresh fair fries and funnel cakes instantly deluge your senses as soon as you enter the gate. Then, suddenly, an escaped goat jolts past you, with a small child chasing after it close behind, and you know you are in a magical place.
After the first 10 minutes, it is easy to become overwhelmed with how much there is to see and do. Animal barns on your left, rides on your right, and a the 4-H Royal Court on stage just ahead. From watching the decorated pygmy goats and cows, to witnessing demolition-derby cars destroy each other, to flying in a whirlwind of circles on a fair ride, to competing in a fair contest.
It’s the only place you can shoot a Civil War musket, meet a python named Natasha, eat deep-fried Oreos, see a real live mermaid and learn how to make a sweater out of alpaca wool all in the same day. So take a deep breath full of the dwindling summer air, and enjoy the ride.