In this post I’m sharing photos from the Highland County Fair. As I said in my post last week, Highland County is located on the western border of Virginia, adjacent to West Virginia, in an Appalachian region of remote valleys, farms, and pastures. One of the trips that I’d taken to Highland County in the last few years happened to coincide with its quintessential small county fair – with livestock, produce, and truck and tractor competitions taking place alongside the rides and games of a traveling amusement park that was set up on the fairgrounds.
I grew up in a small town in central Massachusetts, not as remote as Highland County, but rural enough so that the farms and pastures and old structures of that county reminded me of where I grew up. One of my neighbors had a farm, and our house was close to a field where he grew corn. In the fall we neighborhood kids would ride in the trailer pulled by his harvesting machine and dodge ears of corn flying from its chute and filling the trailer. Later in the fall I would scour the field collecting ears of corn missed by the harvester and grind the corn from them to fill our bird feeders over the winter. So wandering around the fair I felt a kind of affinity for the young kids who were grooming their special livestock (pigs or cows or young bulls), or hanging awkwardly at the edge of the dirt race track or carnival midway. They know a lot more than I ever did about farm animals, but I had some idea of what it’s like to grow up in a small town.
A big afternoon event at the fair is the dog show competition. It was taking place in an open-air building with bleachers on either side of the central show area. Multiple sets of dog show entries are managed from a raised platform.
At the edge of the show area competitors of all ages and their dogs of all breeds, large and small, line up. A lot of the competitors are young kids.
The girl on the right and Muffin, her poodle mix entry, won a red ribbon. Blue ribbons are for first place and red ribbons for second.
Number 65 and her friend seem to be discussing strategy for their entries as they wait to be called.
Later in the afternoon the show building is being used for auctions of livestock. In this auction a young bull led by its owner is generating some action in the bidding called by the auctioneer on the right.
A nearby barn is filled with pens of different kinds of livestock – pigs, goats, sheep, and cows . Young kids from local 4H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapters have raised and show these animals with obvious devotion, hoping for a ribbon for standout specimens at the fair. This young kid wears a sweatshirt for the Highland Bobcats, the county’s football team.
The pigs seems relaxed despite the competition. A nearby sign lists some facts about pigs: “they are extraordinarily intelligent (smarter than 3-year old children) and extremely social animals that form close bonds”
Livestock chores continue even at the county fair.
In another fair building there are hundreds of entries for garden produce of all sorts. They have already been judged, and blue and red ribbons declare the winners.
A dish of purple tomatillos, also called husk tomatoes. The purple varieties are sweeter than green tomatillos. The paper-like husks split open as the tomatillos ripen.
In the fields of the fairgrounds the amusement rides and the midway games are being set up against a backdrop of bucolic countryside.
Over in the big dirt ring trucks of various categories line up for weight-pulling competitions. The trucks that pull the loaded sled the farthest in a frenzy of noise and flying dirt win. The grandstand is filled with onlookers.
It’s not unusual to see Confederate flags in this area. Virginia was one of four Upper South states that joined the original Deep South Confederate states after the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Richmond, VA then became the capital of the Confederacy.
The midway gets active as evening comes on.
The trucks of the small traveling amusement show open up to reveal midway games of skill and silly fun and prizes.
Rides spin and tilt under colored lights and the darkening evening sky – lots of fun.
Back over at the truck pull competition each truck is hitched to “The Hammer”, a big sled that drives increasing amounts of resistance into the dirt as the trucks get farther down the track.
The truck pulls are mesmerizing spectacles that captivate the onlookers and generate amazing amounts of noise.
Over in the grandstand the bleachers are full of spectators following the action.
A pair of friends hang at the edge of the dirt track by the grandstand.
The bingo competition has attracted a large group of players.
A somewhat weary-looking cotton-candy spinner works inside her glass house while a curious young kid hovers.
