Website: Find a county fair near you

Chances are, if your county has any sort of publicity arm, you will see signs and promotions heralding the fair coming to town. Maybe you want to find as many fairs as you can in neighboring counties or as you travel this summer to other states. Either way, check out the website www.countyfairgrounds.net.

The site lists American county fairs by state and has a blog with articles about animals, home and garden, farming and other interests. It also provides information about state fairs.

From the home page, scroll down until you find this on the left:

Select your state and be sure to click on the Go! button -- otherwise you'll go nowhere. Look in the bottom right of the next page to see the results. Hey, Dave, here's what's happening near you!

The fairs are current and are listed in chronological order (so if your area's fair already closed it won't appear). The underlined areas (shown in red) indicate links to those fair's individual websites.

What is a county fair, you may ask? To me it's a celebration of livestock, home-grown produce and home arts mixed in with carnival rides and food on a stick. It's a validation of working hard together and rewarding your family with play. What do you like best about a county fair?

To our international readers: I'd like to know if your communities have events similar to the American county fair, and if so, what appeals to you the most.  Hi, Carie and Becky!