I love county fairs.

And what’s not to love about corn dogs, dozen of 4-H projects on display and of course, my big draw, harness racing.

The Morrow County Fair, which opens Aug. 28 and ends Sept. 4, truly has something for everyone. Games, rides, food and more await us next week.

I didn’t grow up on a farm and never took part in a county fair. But I attended the Jefferson County Fair in eastern Ohio almost every summer as a kid. My aunt knew a prominent farming family near Smithfield and we would go on our annual trek into the country.

I couldn’t wait to escape the smell of the steel mills for that of fresh cattle and pig manure. Seriously. It didn’t bother me then and now 50 years later it still doesn’t offend my olfactory senses.

Anyway, that is often overpowered by the smell of fried foods — corn dogs, elephant ears and Twinkies. Yum.

In fact the only thing that can ruin a county fair is bad weather, namely rain. I’ve covered a few fairs in the north central Ohio region over the years and dodged many a raindrop.

The other weather issue can be oppressive heat. I covered the Crawford County Fair several years ago and it was hot. I mean blazing hot every day, with temperatures in the 90s and humid.

Yuck. It was just plain miserable.

People were on the verge of passing out and several hogs died as a result of the heat. I’d get there at 9 a.m. and by 9:30 I was soaked in sweat. Needless to say, I brought a change of clothing after the first day.

Finally a nice downpour of rain hit on Thursday afternoon and cooled us all off.

This year’s edition of the Morrow County Fair has plenty of entertainment — rough trucks, eating contests and a petting zoo for youngsters — for you to enjoy.

I’ll be there about every day. Hope you are too.

Just bring a comfortable pair of shoes to walk around the fairgrounds and maybe throw an umbrella in the car just for good measure.

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By Anthony Conchel

The Sentinel