Marieke Hahn: Western Idaho Fair

We went to the Western Idaho Fair this past Sunday. It was the last day so we got half-off admission. Yay! The fair reminded me so much of the Santa Cruz County Fair that my family went to every year. Well, "went to" isn't quite the right word. We lived and breathed the fair every year for weeks. We baked cookies and pies, we put together themed table decoration displays, we did flower arranging, we entered our poetry and fine art, we installed gardens, we worked the 4-H snack shack, we exhibited rabbits, chickens, goats, and sheep, we built huge displays in the 4-H building and put on demonstrations based on the classes we had taken that year - the list goes on and on. Those memories are some of my favorite from my childhood.

I went to the fair again one year as an adult and it was just sad - nothing like I had remembered. The hall where we our crafts had been displayed was filled with people's collections - troll dolls, silver spoons, and kitchy cow stuff (an entire case filled with things like cow salt and pepper shakers and a cow creamer where the milk comes out of the cow's mouth so it looks like she's regurgitating cream). The building where our homemade pies and cookies resided had been turned into a vendor hall, filled with booths from companies like Alhambra Water - where they were trying to hawk their water cooler systems. It made me so sad inside. I never went back.

So I wasn't sure what to expect when we went to the Western Idaho Fair. But, like everything in Idaho so far, it exceeded my expectations. We had a blast and here are some photos of what we saw and did:

First and foremost - the cardmaking and scrapbooking display:

And the most amazing quilts I've ever seen:

(My favorite - I LOVED these little monsters.)

Awesome cakes - It's amazing what someone can do with fondant:

We watched a little pig racing. Who knew there was a national association for Pig racing? I was a little sad Brittney Spare Ribs didn't win.

We went to the Wallaby exhibit put on by Bronco Motors. These little guys were so cute.

And we saw some farm animals:

This guy was pretty cool. I was so happy there was a fence between us, though, because he started to get aggressive and began coming at me with his horns directly pointed toward me, all business-like.