The Madison County Fair

On Saturday, we thought it would be a nice idea to go to the local county fair. Admittedly, it is in the middle of nowhere...so if you think Chittenango is rural, you ain't seen nothin' yet! We traveled to Brookfield, NY (population 2,200) with no expectations, but had a suprisingly nice time...although, admittedly, it may not have been worth the 50+ minute drive to get there.


View Madison County Fair in a larger map

When we arrived (and paid our whopping $2 entry fee) there was a very cheesy kid-tastic puppet show that Austin sat and enjoyed for about 15 minutes prior to the main event of the fair: the demolition derby.

Now granted, a demotion derby was going to be a unique experience even for Keith, but we wanted to see if Austin would enjoy the event. When we arrived, about 10 minutes early for the event, the Grandstand was packed and people were eagerly awaiting their heroic neighbors in their beat up cars that they had seen on the street probably only one year before. The highlight for Austin, as it would turn out, was watching the local fire departments spray down the field with water from the firehoses to prevent too much dust from being thrown into the air.

Once the cars came out, the Austin became somewhat apprehensive...you see, in demolition derby, there is a perception that the louder your car is the bigger your...well, lets just say that every guy out there wanted to be the loudest car. And then, once these big loud cars (no Japanese imports here...we are talking old fashioned American made wagons and Caprice Classics) got moving and crashing...you can imagine how loud it must have been...and Austin wanted no part of it. So, with the noise being to overwhelming/fearful for him, we exited the Grandstand.

This was probably the smartest thing to to, because with all the fair-goers watching the demolition derby...the rides were empty in the "midway". Austin had a blast on going from ride, to ride, to ride and being the only one on each (literally). He got to choose whatever he wanted to ride, whenever he wanted to ride it, and had a blast doing so.

So, in the end, we had a nice time and Austin has a great time on the rides. Ironically enough, since Saturday, Austin is asking to watch demotion derby daily on Youtube...apparently he is fascinated, but simply not ready for the noise associated with the event in person, which is fine with us.