The 130th edition of the South Mountain Fair, running from Aug. 18 to 21 had something for everyone, including an exciting midway, great food, music, and 4-H competitions. There is a lot of excitement in competing in a 4-H event like the 4-H Dairy Achievement Day, but also a lot of waiting, both for the livestock and 4-H members. Tinkess photo
SOUTH MOUNTAIN – It was certainly the hottest event in town!
With clear blue skies, a blazing sun and noon time temperatures hovering around 30 degrees, you could understand staying at home and enjoying the AC, but in South Mountain it was fair weekend, and it had been a long time coming!
The 130th edition of the fair adopted a “normal” format following two years of pandemic restrictions. It was obviously a welcome change with lots of smiles and very few masks to be seen.
One possible benefit of the heat was that lines at even the most popular rides weren’t that long and no one had to wait more than a few minutes for their chance to see for miles from the top of the Ferris wheel, or to have their head spin on the Sizzler. People kept moving at a steady pace from one adventure to the next, leaving no one to ask, “What’s taking so long?”
If you felt the need to get out of the sun for a bit, there was a lot to offer in the Children’s Entertainment Tent and the Exhibit Hall, and both saw a steady stream of visitors throughout the weekend.
It really wouldn’t be a fair if there wasn’t a wealth of food and drink choices and the South Mountain Fair had an extensive variety. Bottled water, snow cones and lemonade were all popular choices, but more than a few candy apples and bags of cotton candy were seen being enjoyed by young people as well as some not-so-young people.
If one word were chosen to describe the weekend’s activities, “normal” would probably be a good choice. Covid-19 may not be completely gone from our day-to-day life, but events like the South Mountain Fair remind us how much they were missed.
