Clay County Agricultural Fair

Friday evening Jim, Christian and I visited the Clay County Agricultural Fair. http://www.claycountyfair.org/ I'm embarrassed to admit that even though I've lived in Clay County for the past four years, I've never been. While Jim and I chatted during the 35 minute or so drive from Orange Park to the fair's Green Cove Springs location, I wondered aloud if there would be enough there that would interest a 2 year old. Turns out, there was plenty for all ages.

Parking at the fair was free and was a total cinch. There were several police officers and volunteers helping to guide the cars into their parking spaces. While I am mentioning police officers I should point out that there were police officers and firemen everywhere at the fair. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and were a friendly presence. It made me feel very safe.

As we headed through the parking lot toward the fair's main entrance, I noticed that the weather was pretty hot out, even though there was a merciful cool breeze. A few practical tips for visiting the fair -- bring and wear sunscreen. Sunglasses are also a good idea. Even though we visited in the early evening, it was still very hot out, so you might want to visit very early in the day or later in the evening when it's not as hot. I think the fair's organizers picked the perfect time of year -- it's only going to get unbearably hotter from this point in the year on.

Another practical tip that I didn't think of -- consider wearing sneakers as opposed to flip flops. Being a Florida girl, I wear flip flops pretty much everywhere, (and I can't believe this didn't dawn on me earlier) but the ground we were walking on all throughout the parking lot and the fair was loosely packed dirt, clay and dust. My feet were disgusting by the time we left. ( I know, TMI right?) Also, bring your own bottles of water if you can -- you'll get thirsty and you'll probably want to save your money for attractions and rides. One more thing you'll need -- cash. You can use your credit cards at the admission booth, (and probably the booth to buy tickets to ride the rides) but for food and games you'll need cash. If you forget cash, there's an ATM right as you enter the fair that you can use (if you don't mind the $3 service charge).

As we paid for admission (kids 5 and under are free, adults are $8) I cursed myself as I realized we'd also forgotten Christian's stroller. (Turns out I wasn't extremely well prepared for our visit). However, right as we entered the fairgrounds I spotted a booth where you could rent these awesome little "strollers" which were shaped like small race cars, but had a handle for adults to push. Christian LOVES anything even remotely car-like so he was way more excited about this than any of the fair's rides. Stroller rental was only $5 and worth every penny. It had a shade to keep Christian cool and even a small cup holder near the steering wheel for Christian's cup of juice.

Our collective excitement grew as we walked through the park and got our first look around. Bright lights flashed from the different booths and games, and the sounds of laughter and smells of fried dough and chocolate covered apples filled the air. The booths of food had to be for me the most interesting and exciting part. From the moment I decided to check out the fair, I was dreaming of a big bite of funnel cake. Chinese food, barbecue, specialty coffees, turkey legs, chicken on a stick, cheesecake on a stick, flavored soft pretzels and something called a doughnut burger beckoned us from all directions.

We weren't quite hungry enough yet, so we headed past the majority of the food to this really cool petting zoo area. There in the petting zoo, Christian was able to pet and feed many different types of animals he might never get a chance to see otherwise -- a deer, lama, camel and goats among others. He was very excited about this, and it made for great pictures. After petting some animals, we could hear some music gearing up in a small field roped off and surrounded by packed bleachers. Signs posted around the field announced that we were about to see a "Disc-Connected K9 World Famous Frisbee Dogs Show". http://www.k9frisbee.com/

This. show. was. awesome!

For me, the K9 Frisbee Dogs show was the highlight of the fair. Lawrence, the lively announcer (and one of the owners of the team) told us that several of the dogs in the show were World Championship Frisbee Dog Finalists. One of the dogs, a cutie named "Harley Davidson" was the 2008 AWI World Disc Dog Champion! The show consisted of trainers coming out with dogs, and as upbeat music boomed through speakers, the dogs would do AMAZING catches with the frisbee. These dogs leaped over their trainers, did back flips, and other amazing catches. Christian was riveted, and the audience was fired up. In between acts, Lawrence explained that he and his trainers and dogs travel the world to perform their show. He also said that he and his wife rescue dogs, teach them obedience skills and adopt them into loving families as a way to give back. He explained that any proceeds from the sale of their merchandise goes to support this ministry.

I thought it was all very cool. After the 25 minute show, we headed over to the exhibition hall to get out of the sun and cool off. Inside the exhibition halls, we browsed candles, arts and crafts, jewelry, handbags and the like for sale. There were huge boxes full of different candies to buy. We also saw exhibits put together by local community groups. Botanists were on hand selling exotic plants, and we passed a table manned by a local politician up for re election (although there was a small crowd around him blocking him from view so I didn't catch his name).

After browsing the exhibition hall for awhile, we headed to a different area of the fairgrounds to check out the rides. Christian immediately spotted a small train on a track and started pointing and screaming excitedly about the "choo choo!" Trains are Christian's current obsession. So Jim bought some tickets and we put Christian on the train. It was right about the time that Christian was gently strapped in by the nice attendant that he (Christian) began to get a concerned look on his face. I was waving and smiling excitedly nearby, poised with my camera to take some adorable pictures, and I remember thinking: Uh oh, this isn't going to go well, is it?

Just then, the train let out a whistle and started to puff down the track. Well that did it. Christian broke out in shrieking sobs, and I began laughing so hard that I could barely speak as the sweet attendant stopped the train and handed Christian and my two tickets back to me. I'll be sure to tease Christian about that when he gets older.

From there, we tried putting Christian with his dad on a slow moving go-cart ride, but no dice. Christian was not having it. So we took a look around at some of the fair games and rides. The games and rides were just what you'd expect. The games were of the ring toss, shoot at targets, and hitting a target with a mallet variety. I even spotted a (very) brave guy who was guessing the weight of anyone who wanted to step up and face the scale. For rides, they had the apples that spun like "teacups", those cars that run up and down hills quickly in a circle, the chair-o-plane (those swing-like chairs that spin in a circle high up in the air), tilt-o-whirl, and the obligatory ride that picks you up to the highest point in the park and then drops you suddenly. There were also fun houses, and haunted houses and roller coasters.

We were getting hungry by this time, so we set out to pick out what we'd eat for dinner. Despite the fact that we were surrounded by all different kinds of interesting foods, we ended up heading to the concession stand and eating hamburgers and barbecue. It was good though, and there was a covered area with picnic tables to sit and eat.

After eating, we headed over to the livestock area of the fair, which was really really cool. We entered this large covered amphitheater and were able to look at some RVs, sheds, tractors and lawn mowers for sale. Nearby, kids could ride ponies that walked along in a circle, or practice milking a fake cow (actually looked pretty fun!) Beyond that, there were rows of pig pens with at least thirty different huge pigs to see. They were all dozing. I heard an overhead announcer announcing there would be pig races later. I could hardly imagine these lazy beasts running a race. Besides the pigs, there were stalls of huge cattle and fenced in areas with little piglets, baby goats, and other farm animals. Equally impressive was a huge poultry area that housed cages filled with chickens, crowing roosters, huge turkeys, ducks, peacocks, and many other types of birds. One of the best parts was a cage filled with adorable baby chicks you could reach in and pet.

Christian absolutely loved seeing and petting the animals, and there were plentiful hand washing stations and purell dispensers, which I thought was a great idea. While I'm mentioning the hand washing stations I should also mention that there were several well stocked and clean restrooms throughout the park.

After we left the livestock area, we were able to watch a frog jumping contest in which kids were handling HUGE toads that were hopping around a little play area. The frogs were gross looking, so the kids LOVED it. By now it was getting later and closer to Christian's bed time, so we decided to head out of the park.

I had a great time and definitely can't wait until next year. By then Christian will be a bit older and hopefully a bit less shy about riding some of the rides. I should also mention there's some cool events coming up in the fair schedule (the fair runs April 1st - 10th) -- most importantly Julianne Hough is singing Saturday April 10th at 8pm. I'm a huge Dancing With the Stars fan and Julianne is a pro dancer who won the competition twice. Now she's launching her country music career. She's extremely gorgeous and talented. I may just have to try to make it out there that day. Also there are music performances by local stars, a high school rodeo, autographing by a monster trucker, cloggers, belly dancers and more. The activities and events are far to numerous to mention here, so be sure to check out the Fair's events schedule http://www.claycountyfair.org/daily-schedule.htm

Before I went to the Clay County Fair I remember being a bit puzzled about why a national star like Julianne Hough was performing here. Don't get me wrong, I love Clay County and plan to live here for the rest of my natural life, but we aren't exactly New York or LA. After going to the Fair, it was easy to see why big named stars were choosing to perform here. The Clay County Agricultural Fair is not your average fair. It has been granted a First Place Agricultural Award of Excellence from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, and each year draws tens of thousands of patrons. The great combination of great food, rides and games, as well as entertainment and of course the up close and personal encounters with so many different types of animals really did make it a memorable experience.

We'll definitely be back.