Tag: Rockingham County Fair
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After 75 years, Rockingham Co.’s fair remains largely the same at its core
The 2023 Rockingham County Fair was, above all else, predictable — in the best of ways. The fair, which wrapped up its 75th year on Aug. 19 has grown twelve-fold since its humble inception, while withstanding a pandemic along the way.
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The Importance of the County Fair
While most people are familiar with what a county fair is, few may realize why we have them. The Rockingham Fair Association, which hosts the annual county fair, just outside the city limits south of Harrisonburg, states it held its first fair in 1949, although other local organizations held fairs in various locations around the county prior to that date. The history of the county fair in America, however, began much earlier.
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Amid abnormal times, county fair offers a respite — and pony rides
This year’s Rockingham County Fair was pared down because of the pandemic but still highlighted the basics. Here are scenes from the fair, including who (and what) was there and what all was missing.
The fair is food
The Rockingham County Fair is food, from the milk cows stanchioned in the dairy barn to carnival cotton candy on the midway. Horticulture and homemaking displays celebrate the ability to grow and prepare food, while outside the exhibit halls the fair is a celebration of how to consume it.
