Don't miss Popcorn Day at the Gallatin County Fair
Gallatin County IL has a fair to beat the band. Yes, they have many of staples of fairs in general. They also have a few events you either don’t see anywhere else or haven’t seen in many years.
There’s the Western Horse Show on Sept 6th with youth, ladies and men’s classes and it includes barrel racing. The 2009 Gallatin County Arts and Crafts Show is part of the fair. Some of the classes being judged are something out of nothing (recycle), afghans, baby afghans, woodworking, crochet, cross stitch, original artwork, wreaths, digital photography, photography, quilts, and popcorn crafts along with many more. Junior entries exist in many of these classes too.
A Culinary Fair with divisions for men, women and youths will judge entries on wedding cakes, pies, cakes, canned items and popped corn as well as dozens of more categories.
Why all the popcorn entries in everything? Because Ridgway, the town that hosts the Gallatin County Fair, is one of six cities in the US that claims to be the Popcorn Capital of the World. Ridgway was at one time the home of a popcorn company which began the annual popcorn day in 1958. Though the company is now closed the celebration has become part of the county fair. Huge kettles are set up in the middle of the street, and heating them begins at dawn through efforts of many volunteers. Popcorn Day this year is celebrated on September 12th. For some fun craft ideas you can make with popcorn, check out Tamaraa Water's article here.
As for events you don’t see any more, the Gallatin County Fair hosts an annual frog jumping contest. More than 150 entries are expected which is a lot of frogs. Don Foster who has been judging the contest for more than 30 years will again preside in spite of being very ill. The frog jump is held in downtown Ridgway and draws folks from all over.
The Gallatin County Fair runs from September 4th through September 13th, 2009. See the map for the exact location.
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Other fairs going on this weekend: The Barnes Family Bluegrass Music Festival Shawnee Hills Wine Trail Festival
Comments
Oh how wonderful to see good old fashioned fun, frog jumping and popcorn who could ask for anything more :) great article :)
Frog jumping - shades of Mark Twain! The smaller county fairs are usually so much more fun than the big urban ones.
The fabulous fragrance of fresh popped corn always draws a crowd. It's a smell that reminds me of great times. This festival sounds like a great time too. Small festivals like this are always fun. Thanks for sharing Theresa.
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