Windsor fair (Topsham, Oxford, Blue Hill: hardwood floors, to buy, high school)

[mainerwoman]

My 7 yr old daughter is exhibiting for the first time at the Windsor Fair. Her 4-H group is a new one (just started in Jan.). I was wondering if there are any parents who are familiar with the fairs and how the judging is done. This year she is a cloverbud so she'll get a ribbon anyways, but for next year what can she expect? I think we'll stick to food or crafts until she's old enough to be completely responsible for an animal. Her exhibit was blueberry muffins made with maine blueberries.

[moughie]

Best of luck to your little girl!

She gets my vote for first place Wild Maine blueberry muffins sound scrumptious!

[elston]

Oh, good luck to your daughter! My boys used to always enter as 4H kids; I love fairs....will map quest Windsor to see the distance.

[Maine Writer]

Good luck!

[AlisonL]

I love Windsor Fair and miss being there to go to it. Its my favorite ag fair in Maine. This is the first time in over 20 yrs we will not have been there.

[mainebrokerman]

we use to go every year and look forward to it,,,the smell of grease (doughboys) filled the air, and use to love going on the rides,,,i took my son every year,,,

i dont seem to have much desire to go anymore, maybe im getting old,,,or the price of something that greasy is offensive ,,,even the price of the rides... or maybe its, the running into old friends you went to high school with and now they have thier grandkids with them,,,,,and it seems like yesterday you were on that same merry-go-round ,
tho i do like to see the cows and animals,,and the ox pulls...

[Nor'Eastah]

Just wait till your daughter starts raising animals for 4-H! Take a look at them at the fair - you've never seen such beautiful critters in all your life! They are always cleaner than we are, just stepping out of a shower! So very un-farm-like, but still a thrill to see such proud and accomplished youngsters! FFA kids raise nice livestock, too. I appreciate this, as I have spent much time in the show ring with dogs, and have first-hand experience with the impeccable grooming that has to be done! If you go to a horse show, you will see magnificently-groomed animals, also.

Gosh, I really love this stuff! Wish I had more time for it now...(soon!).

[mainerwoman]

Right now we are raising a steer, but for beef, not showing. My daughter just loves horses. One of the reasons we joined 4-H was a cheaper rate for riding lessons. This summer she participated in her first riding show and won two 3rd place, one 2nd, and a 1st place for trail riding. I'm leaning towards some of those fancy chickens for when she turns 9 and is able to show. Or maybe a rabbit. We'll see.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by mainerwoman

Right now we are raising a steer, but for beef, not showing. My daughter just loves horses. One of the reasons we joined 4-H was a cheaper rate for riding lessons. This summer she participated in her first riding show and won two 3rd place, one 2nd, and a 1st place for trail riding. I'm leaning towards some of those fancy chickens for when she turns 9 and is able to show. Or maybe a rabbit. We'll see.

My eldest was the only one of my crew to do 4H critters and she did rabbits. Her "trick" to having bunnies that were easy to show was that -- when she got a new one -- it lived in her room with her for a month or so, getting all sorts of handled and loved and used to people and chaos. Not in a cage either... most of the time (it had one there, and was locked in at night but most of the time was free in her room). We put a baby gate across the door to keep bunny in and pup out. (well-sealed hardwood floors are wonderful!)

One spring, one of her main rabbits disappeared a couple of weeks before Spring Fair. (we found the cage open, and since I had been there to carry a bale of hay into the rabbitry for her when she did chores, I KNOW she didn't leave it open by accident... the other kids in the area used to come in and see the rabbits and some had permission to feed them a carrot top or the like from time to time, so we think someone opened the door and an accident happened and they were scared to 'fess up.) She bought a replacement, but you were not supposed to show stock that had not been yours for that short a period. She took that rabbit as well as others in other categories, to the fair and explained to the superintendent what had happened. The ruling was made to allow her to show this " new " rabbit, as the officials knew both my daughter and the breeder from whom the rabbit had been bought. They cautioned her, though, not to expect a ribbon, showing a "new" rabbit that she could not have worked with "much."

BOY were they surprised! It got best of show and when some of the other parents went to object, as they were sure she had bought a show rabbit, ready-trained, the officials were united in explaining that they NEW that rabbitry... the bunnies got no particular attention as there were hundreds of them, but they did ask her to explain and she shared her "trick." Believe me, none of the other parents looked eager to buy into that style of rabbit-taming!

We mostly did cooking, sewing and the like... Several of the girls made it to state in sewing competitions but the cooking ones -- where they cook in front of the judges -- always made me very nervous.

[island mermaid]

I was in Oxford yesterday and noticed their fair starts Sept 7. I've only been to that one a couple times, I prefer the Windsor, Cumberland and the Blue Hill fairs! The Topsham fair went to the dogs when they moved it from October to August. It used to be a great agricultural (sp?) fair back then. Now's it's just horrible, a ghost town.

Dough boys....yummmm

French fries.... yummmm

Sausage sandwiches....yummmmm

DH calls it "Carnie food".