Cloggers and county fairs just go together! Somewhere between the pretty baby contests, the livestock exhibits, the booths of everything sugary and fried, we find a spot to plug in a sound system and dance. Why does it always have to be so HOT?!
Teams everywhere have been posting pictures and videos from their own fair shows. Y'all look great! Fancy Free Cloggers will be dancing at county fairs in at least three states this summer, starting last week with two performances on our home turf of Adams County, Ohio.
One advantage to performing? A free ticket to the fair! Adams County runs a free shuttle service from town to the fairgrounds, which helps the parking situation tremendously. (Thank you to the volunteer drivers!) Teammate Jaime and I waited together for the next shuttle.
Fancy Free Cloggers found a tasty way to cool off before our first show. Local businesses competed in a mocktails (non-alcoholic mixed drinks) contest. Kristen from our clogging family represented her workplace with a delicious "caramel apple dream" beverage. She got my vote!
A county fair can be a great place to hobnob with local celebrities. FFC was happy to see Rosie Young, a favorite radio personality and performer.
Fancy Free's afternoon performance was part of the Senior Citizens Day activities. BONUS: It was inside, along with a quilt show.
All performers love a good audience! I had a nice chat with this lady before and after the show. She and her friends were a highlight of my day. I hope they enjoyed the rest of their visit to the fair!
First show was a success, woo-hoo!
Following this, Evie called an impromptu team meeting about our evening show. Due to a schedule mix-up, we had to change either the location or the time.
Keeping the planned time of 6:00 would relocate our show to the administration building again. Pro: Cooler temps due to being inside. Con: No other activities in that part of the fairgrounds, so no foot traffic to pick up an audience.
Choosing to instead keep our planned evening location, the activities pavilion, meant we would dance later than planned, following the pretty baby contest. Pros: Lots of stuff going on, so we can easily pick up audience members. Cons: No set start time, we'll just have to see how many pretty babies show up. Plus, did I mention it was HOT outside?
Ivan doesn't care; he can have our sound system in place and ready to go either way.
Being the hams that we are, Fancy Free opted for the bigger crowd!
Now with even more time to explore, we set off in search of food and fun.
This is apparently a thing now. Has anybody tried it?
Sabrena chose classic fried stuff, which did not disappoint!
The 4-H folks held a pretty procession of the U.S. flag, the Ohio flag, and the 4-H flag to open the horse events.
The sheep barn had the best entrance decor, but the sheep were mostly snoozing when I walked through.
The goats were more interested in making friends. Or seeing if I brought them food. No such luck on the food...
His big sisters rode some of the scarier attractions, but I prefer the circus train Remington is driving!
The local library gave out cute bookmarks and free used books! Although the overall selection was tempting, my TBR pile is currently overflowing. This title made me chuckle, though - looks perfect for dancers!
Hitting the stage for performance two was a blast! We made the right choice to change our show time for the better location. Former teammates dropped in, along with a dancer from another local team. We had many takers for "Cotton-Eyed Joe."
Wilma is a team favorite from the Red Barn Convention Center. When you're dancing in the heat, this smile on the front row helps keep you going! I hope all teams out there have a Wilma. (But you can't have ours!)
Fancy Free's next county fair performance will be the Jackson County Fair in West Virginia next week. Wishing all the cloggers out there good crowds, good food, and good weather for your upcoming shows!
What's YOUR favorite part about dancing at the county fair?