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Great Darke County Fair
Blending past
memories with the present
By Kathy Magoto
I had not been to the Great Darke County Fair for several years, so it
was as though I was looking through different eyes when I passed
through the gates. Undoubtedly each of us experiences the fair
differently, depending on our age, interests, etc. The fair
awakens all our senses; sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, making
the experience surreal.
For me it was impressive to see tractor pulling people haulers and the
golf cart taxis available to transport fairgoers to and from their
parked vehicles. The people haulers pickup and drop off at a
generalized location while the golf cart cabbies provided personalized
transportation directly to or from a vehicle. Both are
ridiculously affordable since the people haulers are free and the taxi
drivers let the passengers decide the worth of their service.
As a teen I enjoyed the rides, games and atmosphere, so much that I
still get excited when someone mentions the fair. Over the years
many of the foods that were treats at the fair have made their way into
restaurants and grocery stores; such as the deep fried onion and other
deep fried vegetables, the elephant ear, French fries with vinegar,
cotton candy, caramel corn, peanuts, and saltwater taffy. And
even though we can always get ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, chicken,
and lemonade outside the fair, it never tastes quiet as good.
Throughout the years my desire to eat has not changed as much as my
food selections have changed. So much so that I made it my
mission to find out if I (or others like me) had healthy food choices
available at the Great Darke County Fair. I’m extremely pleased
to report no difficulty for those avoiding gluten or limiting their
carbohydrates. There is the Louisiana Grill with their Bourbon
Chicken, which is available with or without rice, Adams Produce with a
tomato and cheese sandwich, fresh mixed fruit cups of grapes, peaches,
and melon, and their ABC bowl; apples and bananas with caramel.
There is Hog Wild Smokehouse Ribs offering pulled pork BBQ, smoked pork
chops or a half slab of ribs, several frozen fruit juice stands, taco
salads, steak or chicken fajitas, Italian or polish sausage sandwiches,
hamburgers, hotdogs, hoagies, Philly steak, and ham sandwiches all
available with or without the bun. Thankfully Hollansburg
continues their open pit BBQ chicken, with sides of sliced tomatoes,
cucumber and onions, coleslaw, applesauce or baked beans. And for
those that can eat a few more carbs Ned’s chicken and noodle dinner is
another excellent choice.
As my brother-in-law says there’s always room for ice cream it also
seems to be common knowledge among fairgoers with innumerable places to
buy ice cream. Every ice cream stand had a steady line, each
offering their own unique style of ice cream, from homemade, soft serve
to dipping dots, and from in a sugar waffle cone to over an apple
dumpling. A few ice cream stands even offered frozen
yogurt.
As I made my way up and down the fairways I noticed food and beverage
establishments sprinkled throughout the fairgrounds, which provided yet
another convenience that I was not attentive to in previous years. If
you haven’t yet attended the Great Darke County Fair of 2016 I invite
you to attend. The fair truly has the ability of blending our
past memories with the present, which is the best treat of all.
Taxi Driver: Jervis Thomas Taxi #4
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