I live in a beautiful, agricultural valley and count myself lucky to do so. Every fall, (except the fall of the devastating Hurricane Lee) my hometown hosts a Fair. Everything good and bad that fairs have, this fair has in abundance.

It’s Fall, after all, and fall is all about the abundance. People compete: they knit, and stitch and sew. They can and bake and grow. They raise livestock large and small. They show their pet chickens, dogs, bunnies and burros. This year you didn’t see horses as big as houses because those horses went to live on my classmates farm. Lady and Duke are lazin’ it up, retired from show biz. Folks get on their tractors, ancient and new, and drag large weights around to burn out their engines… huh? There are rides. Sadly there are side shows. There are bands. You can win the ugliest plush toys in the world if only your aim is good enough and your money lasts. People guess your weight (you want to see that person at the beginning of your trip by the vendors). People guess your age (you want to avoid them altogether.).

And then you eat. You taste the first cider of the season and eat something fried that later you really wish you hadn’t. You have food that you eat every year at Fair. You consider all sorts of odd foods, but you avoid the fudge/bacon. ‘Cause what the heck it’s Fair week. You walk for hours! Kids are bedazzled and so are the adults. You always see someone you went to high school with even if you lived a half hour away, because EVERYONE comes to Fair. You run into people from where live now which is also a half hour away, staying with the theme above.

You remember that food is grown, not just processed. And that that is an earthy messy process. You realize that some families are making a portion of their living from the food that’s grown. Others are proudly showing of skills that have kept their families fed for generations. Other people are making cakes that look like spaghetti and meatballs, and you can only figure they have too much time on their hands.

Fair. It’s a great way to celebrate the Fall… and Fall is worth celebrating! Fall, Peace!