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45 years of shaking it up at the fair
CANFIELD
If Taylor Swift’s hit song “Shake It Off” had a Canfield Fair remix, I think it would be called “Shake It Up.”
That’s what I did Wednesday – the opening day of the 169th Canfield Fair – when I learned how to make a fair favorite that for some people is reason enough to venture out into the sweltering heat: lemon shakes.
Walking around the fairgrounds Wednesday morning before the place filled with visitors, I passed several stands emblazoned with the words “lemon shakes,” traversing roads at every end of the fairgrounds, but it wasn’t until I saw a quaint stand on Bishop Drive that I felt like I had come to the right place.
I stopped at the Brown’s stand, where the two teenagers working the booth pointed me in the direction of their sister stand on Austintown Drive.
When I went there later in the day – once the 85-degree heat had set in – I was glad that I chose Brown’s as my “shake it up” site.
Before the mother-daughter duo of Amy and Ro Brown taught me the art of the lemon shake, they filled me in on a little bit of their family history.
“We’ve been out here 45 years,” said Ro.
The Brown’s operation – owned by the family from Austintown – at the fair began in 1970 with Amy’s grandmother, Irene Brown. The original stand was near the grandstand.
Today, Amy and her brother, Burt Brown Jr., operate three stands on Austintown and Bishop drives. The Canfield Fair is the only fair at which they operate.
They inherited the business from their father, Burt Brown Sr., after he took over for Irene.
“It’s tradition – and a little bit of extra money,” Amy said. She and Ro say they like being at the fair every year because of the visitors.
“You don’t see people all year long, and then they come find us at the fair,” Ro said.
Over the years, the Browns have built up a loyal following, they say.
“They’ll look us up. I just got a guy earlier this morning who said, ‘We looked all around for you!’ And after they get [a lemon shake up] they’ll say, ‘This is the best one we’ve had,’” said Ro.
After tasting one made by Ro and Amy, it wasn’t hard to see why: it was nothing short of delicious – just the right blend of sweet and tart.
Carefully following their instructions, I did my best to replicate the icy-cold cup of lemony heaven that I had just tasted.
First, I added sugar.
“How much?” I asked.
“That’s a secret!” Amy said. They were kind enough to share the full recipe with me, but my lips are sealed.
Next came the lemon: half of one. Perched on a stool in the tiny bright-green stand adorned with fake lemons attached to vines, I squeezed out every possible drop of lemon juice.
Next I poured in ice – all the way to the top of the cup – and then added water.
“Then the trick is to shake it,” instructed Amy, saying it takes about 15 to 20 seconds.
“That’s the fun part,” said Ro. When it was time to taste-test, I was pleasantly surprised: the Shake Up was delicious and refreshing, if I do say so myself.
Thank you, Brown family, for sharing your secrets with The Vindicator.
Fairgoers, stop by and see them. Even after 45 years, they plan to be shaking it up at the Canfield Fair for generations to come.