Corn Dogs and Pig Races

There's one part of summer that every small town in America yearns for. Hundreds of people are attracted, the smells range from cow manure to freshly deep fried corn dogs, and it's the only way to end a perfect summer. What's this highly anticipated event? Nothing other than the town fair. The Chester Fair happens during the last weekend of August. School starts the next week, everyone's back from vacation, and friends are reunited for the biggest celebration yet.

Pig Race

There are two different personalities to the Chester Fair: day time and night time. During the day is family time; kids can go the the petting zoo, participate in competitions, and watch performances. For parents there's food and art judging, as well as horse pulls and pig races. The day time of the Chester fair is the traditional, picture-esque county fair, with nothing but kettle corn, fried dough, and cows to pet. There are rides and games, a section of booths filled with homemade goods and souvenirs, and a stage where local talent is showcased.
For me the Chester Fair Grounds are right across the street, so popping in to get some deep fried Oreos was no big deal. We'd have a 3 day pass because my Dad was one of the photography judges, so we'd walk over and get lunch and come back, or grab the worlds best fresh squeezed lemonade and take another walk around the fair before heading home.

One of my favorite parts of the fair when I was a kid was participating in the tractor pull. Different age groups would peddle a tractor with weights in the back and whoever pulled the most won. Me, being slightly larger than the rest walked away with the first place trophy at my first attempt, and it is still to this day displayed proudly in my room.

When night time rolled around, the lights turned on, the air got cool, the mosquitos came out, and a different crowd lined up outside the gate. The teenie-boppers fill the grounds. Every cent they came with would be spent on ride tickets and games, or any souvenir that lit up. Looking around you'd see that awkward middle school couple silently holding hands, the cool kids walking around the premises over a dozen times, the hard core riders purchasing sheets of tickets at a time, and the high schoolers who think being 2 years older gives them the authority to point and make fun of all of the above. The Chester Fair would be teen central, so god forbid if a parent accompanied their kid their social life could potentially be tarnished.
For me and my friends, after a night of rides, balloon popping, and eating everything in site, we'd start our journey back to my house to finish the night off with a dip in the pool and s'mores.

At the end of the day, the town fair is what brings everyone together. No matter where in small town America you are, the fair represents all that's good in the town, and it's all put on displayed for everyone to see. It's a celebration of sorts, and if you get the chance to stop by a town fair you should without a doubt. The feeling of hospitality and community is overwhelming, and it's definitely worth the trip.