Being from the propodes I just don't connect Easter with harvest, y'know? I think a tourist coming to Australia would have a wonderful time visiting your fair, whatever its name. Just as a visitor here would be amazed at what can be seen at the big local fairs.
So what are some of the things that they show in the district display? Here a typical list would include several kinds of tree fruits, berries, a few types of nuts, wild foods, mushrooms, all the standard vegetables, herbs, flowers, honey, candles, leather and wool, including wool from bison, oysters, clams, smoked salmon, preserved meats, jams & jellies, dried foods, various kinds of hay & grains... lots & lots of things.
One of my first images of Britain was some flight of fancy about the song, Scarborough Faire. I wonder if there really is one. (I could Google it, probably will.)
Piffka - My parents retired to Ocean Shores for around 15 years. When we had summer vacations from Sandland we usually spent a week or two of it with them there. The Gray's Harbor County Fair was one of the highlights of the stay. It had all of the usual food booths you'd expect at a fair, but I don't remember seafood.
The best, most recent seafood memory I have comes from one of the vacations in Washington. I guess this was about five or six years ago. We were all out sightseeing together, and stumbled across a salmon BBQ held in a small town a few miles north of Ocean Shores. I think it was called Ocean City. It was about eight bucks a head to get in. The combination of good food, eating outside around beautiful Washington scenery, and the whole family being together still warms my heart.
My parents decided to sell their house and leave Ocean Shores a few years ago. Now, they're snowbirds in Yuma, and summer in Wenatchee.
We also love pigs. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but pigs became our family mascot before we got married.
From Ocean Shores to Wenatchee & Yuma? Nice choices, though I'll bet they miss the ocean (maybe not the wind & weather). A friend was there yesterday, as it happens. She said the wind was blowing so hard, everyone was chilled & wearing coats -- even though it was 90F inland.
The salmon BBQ sounds like a good time -- good family memory to have while you're where you are! If you were back in WA you'd find a few of them and they'd still be the same price! Salmon are running right now -- lots of people here are fishing off the coast and in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We ate a salmon last night, caught by one of the guys that works for Mr.P. Truly, I couldn't believe we ate the whole thing! The dogs & cat got a small share, but my kids went back for big seconds. It was good!
Pigs? Pigs as pets or pigs to eat?
The only pigs we have are stuffed animals, salt and pepper shakers, etc. But we do enjoy watching them at the fair.
In the summer of 98 we went to the Nevada State Fair in Reno. The highlight for my wife and I was the "Swine Showmanship". They had the 4H kids showing off their pigs. For part of it the kids paraded their pigs before the Judge, and only had a small diameter 3 or 4 foot long stick to guide the pigs around the grounds. Tap-tap-tap on the pig's shoulder to try to steer the pig so they would always be in front of the Judge as the Judge strolled around. It was quite a thing to watch.
Sounds cute. We raised two pigs once, about twenty years ago. My brother-in-law had a pig farm and gave us two from one of the litters. They were Durocs -- the dark red hairy kind. Pinky and Umber were their names. Pinky was a sweetheart but Umber was a butt who used to chase me around his paddock. *He* was turned in sausage... yum! We think he tasted so good because they had a big cherry tree in the paddock and the two pigs would lie underneath that tree and eat cherries all day long. Pinky was given back to become a brood pig. She was too sweet and would let me scratch her between her ears and then she'd flop over and want me to rub her belly.
I was at the Puyallup Fair this evening -- one of our artist friends won best of show for Fine Arts, so we went to the awards presentation to cheer him on. Tomorrow for the fair opeining there's a parade through town with horses and a herd of cattle. I'm looking forward to seeing how they manage that!
Have fun tomorrow. I wish my wife and I were there with you.
