I've been to the MoCo fair twice now, and both times were pretty fun! The layout is always easy to figure out, and things like bathrooms and food are always within reasonable distance. A few rides changed, but it was still a great time. All of my encounters with staff were really pleasant too. The fair is pretty pricey compared to how it was in the past, but what isn't these days? The only thing that could improve the experience is getting out of the fair -- even if you don't wait until the end, the line of traffic can be a bit of a bear. I think that's in part because it's next to a very busy shopping center / mall. read more

Spectacular!!! That's sums it up!! Easy to walk through & excellent photo opportunities a MUST see!!!!! you will really enjoy lumino city especially if you have little ones. It's a bit pricey but I think it's worth it for some family fun around the holiday seasons. read more

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My family has gone to the annual fair every year since 2004. one of our favorite things was the smoked turkey legs. Well, this year they were priced at $21 EACH. Insane greed has ruined another tradition. we are retired. While not poor, $21 for a turkey leg is outrageously too much. So next year (2026) we will find another activity to replace the fair tradition. read more

If you've never been to the Montgomery county agricultural fair you're missing out! Unfortunately it only comes once a year in August for a week, but it's always a good time. Lots of rides, plenty of food, games, and farm animals! They have wristbands for about $40 that give you unlimited access to rides, or you can buy a few tickets to ride the rides. I don't ride the rides but my kid does lol. I'm just there for the food lol. My favorite food to get are the deep fried Oreos and funnel cakes! They also have the best lemonade! We check out the fair every year, it's become a tradition of ours and we love it. It was a little crowded this year but I'm not surprised because who doesn't love a good fair?! You can park on the fair grounds or across the street and walk over. read more

Montgomery County Fairgrounds - Deep fried Oreos - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

We usually try to attend each year depending on our schedule but we made it this year. Normally we drive but this time we tried the shuttle from Germantown Montgomery college parking lot. It's a regular school bus but both directions went smoothly, saved us 20 bucks parking and brought us to the opposite end where we most wanted to go anyway so very good option. Just make sure to ask the driver if it's going to Germantown or Rockville as they provide shuttles from both areas. The bus doesn't have any signs. The fair itself is always fun with plenty of good food. Without little kids anymore it's definitely a different experience as we just don't do rides anymore....let the teens enjoy that. We like the exhibits, animals, and of course food and drinks. Lots of info booths too if you need to ask questions for many different services both county and private. Definitely recommend...if you drive you must pay and park....no more parking across the street in retail lots or the old lake Forest Mall.... you'll get ticketed or towed if they catch you.... that's why we opted to try the shuttle and it was fine.... enjoy read more

Montgomery County Fair.. 75 years! This used to be an annual event for my family and I but I think this last year is our final visit. "Is it smaller?" My teen asked. At first my response was no you just bigger but when I really think about it and look around. Yes it is smaller and more expensive. We not big ride people and wants you have seen the shows you have seen the shows and even the food options are getting old. We had fun but I think we can put this money to another family event or maybe even a trip. For those that have not been, go! read more

If on military appreciation day you make the active duty's spouse pay for a ticket when they are together as a family then I think you only say you support the military to get good public image and to get people through the door. At least put that detail online so you don't have to pay the extra amount at the gate. Not a military family event. Shame read more

This was our 1st time attending the 2013 Demolition Derby at the fair and we had a great time. We can't wait to see next year's events and the fairgrounds was busy and packed with people. We the good old fair foods.. we ate good (chicken pita, corn dogs, chicken on a stick, funnel cakes, fried oreos cotton candy, turkey legs, hot nuts, and ice cream). read more

Montgomery County Fairgrounds - Attending the Demolition Derby. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Came here for the hot air balloon festival, and this was a really great venue to host such an event. I ended up parking by the business park area, since part of the main road leading to the entrance of the fairgrounds was closed. This place is huge and is very easy to get to. The hot air balloon festival was a blast! read more

Montgomery County Fairgrounds - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Pro: big parking lot, animal, live shows, first aid area, rides, police. Con: prices, terrible traffic. Haven't been to the fair for a long time so me and some family members decided to go to the 2023 Montgomery agricultural fair on Aug 19. The traffic was really really terrible and the police sitting outside were no help in directing anybody. We sat in traffic for about an hour trying to get in. You would have a better chance parking far and then walk into the fair. Some food stall were decent while other was just over price with subpar food quality. Games are overpriced and to get a big prize you be spending lot of $$. All in all, don't think il be going again next year. read more

The ticket is still 10 dollars. There are a great number people Saturday noon, which is the last day. I love here, and my daughters. My old daughter is a volunteer, and she love her work. She have been coming here for six days. A wonderful time. read more

Montgomery County Agricultural Fair today. Free Tuesday for Seniors (even though I'm only 35). Photos tell the story, captions tell the photos. read more

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I had fun, and I'm not really an agricultural fair kinda gal. I wore a Ferragamo headband and pearl earrings to the fair, ya'll. You know, just FYI. This was my first time at the MoCo Fairgrounds and at the Agricultural Fair. You walk in and there's an agri half and a carnival half. AGRICULTURAL There is tons to see and amazing people watching. Prize winning tomatoes, you can buy local honey, there are entertainment shows (comedians and dancers, etc), you can take selfies on tractors, there are baby pigs, chickens dusting (in a cage), and a billion other animals to meet. It smells, but it didn't ruin my life. CARNIVAL / WRISTBAND There is tons to see and amazing people watching. Carnival games. Rides. There's an all you can ride wristband for $25. Or you can buy 5 tickets for $5. When I walked around there were only 3 I really wanted to ride, so it wasn't worth it to buy the wristband. The wristband is only good for only the mechanical rides, so not good for like the Haunted House I guess. There are 3 places to buy wristbands and tickets. Don't wait in a line that's a lifetime long... just walk around and find the other ticket booths. RIDE COST EXAMPLES Ferris wheel=5 tickets/$5 Spinning swing=4 tickets Zero gravity circle spinning thing where the floor falls off and you stick to the wall thing=4 tickets (obviously, I don't know the name). FOOD They had their standard carni fair food and also outside vendors. I stuck with carnival food and had my first corndog. It was amasssssssszing. I also got soft serve with rainbow sprinkles and it made my night magical. One vendor had a Krispy Kreme burger. I'm not into that...yet...even though I've pinned at least 300 recipes onto my Pinterest Eats board. But it's there, if you want to try one! On the way out, I got food from the outside vendors. There was a cupcakery/bakery there and I got a fresh blueberry pie and 4 cupcakes to take home. TIME If you're there mainly to ride rides, I suggest going after 8pm cause it'll be cooler and the lines will be shorter. FREE PARKING There are tons of free spots. You'll have to walk but if you're a cheapo, definitely don't spend money on parking. We parked for free and it was just a 5 minute walk to the admissions ticket booth. MONEY MONEY MONEY $10 admission $5 ferris wheel $25 for all you can ride wristband $5 pretzel CASH MONEY BRING YOUR OWN CASH. There are tons of mobile ATMs on site but I can't even imagine that ATM charge (I am so anti-paid parking AND anti-extra fees). To buy ride tickets or to do games--they only take cash! A lot of food vendors will take a credit card but it's a $4 minimum and/or they'll charge you $1 for a "convenience fee." Don't do it. read more

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Hooray, the fair is back! My family and I went last weekend, but the judging was going on so a few of the areas I went to were blocked off. This was my second year going to the fair, but the first time I saw the Grizzly Experience. It was very cool learning about bear facts and safety information all while watching the bears do tricks and eat marshmallows! We took advantage of parking at Lake Forest Mall and taking the worry-free and clean shuttle bus over to the fair. Beats paying $10 for parking at the fair! My dad learned a lot about honey bees and bee keeping, BP got me a funnel cake, we all walked a lot, and got freebies from a few booths. I even got a glaucoma test at the Lions Club booth. Ha ha ha, it motivated me to go to my actual optometrist :) read more

Montgomery County Fairgrounds - Baaa! - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

The MoCo County Fair is a really cool experience. By day it's a livestock festival and typical fair. By night it's a light show! They have everything from pig races to ferris wheels to tiltawhirl to tractors to glass blowing to animal shows. I really enjoyed the animal shows the best--and not even the shows exactly but the preparation for the show. It was a blast to watch these big burley farmers using hair spray to style cow tails ha ha! Or people brushing chickens. I don't know what else this area is good for outside of the fair, but I really loved my one visit to the fair and can't wait to return! The only negative is parking is a real problem that is not solvable. We parked in a random parking lot and had a short 10 minute walk, but we were extremely lucky. I think a lot of people end up using shuttles to park in remote lots. It just takes a long time to get around. Everyone we met here was so nice and fun to talk to. I mean, if you are reading this review, you really should go ahead and mark your calendar for a visit. This place is incredible. My wife is a state fair expert having grown up on a farm herself, and she says this is a standard state fair with livestock. But I was really beside myself with excitement. Food options are kinda meh, definitely not the healthiest place to eat. I don't recall any name vendors, just random fair food people. But you can grab a hotdog or soda or food on sticks or sweets. I think there are even food contests! Still, bring some water and snacks just in case. read more

The Hustle County Fair, or the (ahem) Montgomery County Fair should come with a warning sign: PREPARE to BE HUSTLED. And when I say 'hustle', I mean like taken advantage of. What exactly are they hustlin' here? Yo money. That's it, your hard-earned cash. You'll be nickled and dimed for every nickle and dime. The Moco Fair Hustles in the Following Way: +Entry fee: $10 (If you have kids, you've already spent $50). +Parking: $10 (though you can ride the 'shuttle' for free at Lakeforest Mall...beware...its a school bus) +Food & Drankkk: $1,000,000,000 (Yup, that's a real figure) +Tickets: $5 for 4 tickets, $10 for 8, etc. You CAN buy an unlimited ride wristband for 'only $25'. ..but again, if you have kids, you've spent at least $100+. Oh, and the 'unlimited' wristband really isn't unlimited....there are restrictions! Of course, that tidbit is in veryyyyyyy fine print. +Games $25+ to win something halfway-decent. No folks, wristbands do NOT work if you want to play games...the games are fixed to make you spend millions to win a toy the size of the palm of your hand---want something bigger? Well, get ready to go broke my amigo. +Other Random Attractions: $5-$15 (There's a rock climbing hustle that purports you can win an easy $50---by spending $5 to climb up a wall. The catch? There's about 3 places for your feet to grip---so you won't be winning anything. Of course, you don't notice this until after you've paid the $5.) Hustle County Fair, you the real MVP. read more

This review is for the Montgomery County Fair held at the fairgrounds. The annual fair has been getting more expensive each year - looks like they are getting financial advise from Redskins owners! You have to pay $10 per car to park and then $10 per person to get it. Food items have become more expensive too and there are endless choices of the same fair food options - corn dogs, and super fried food. The rides cost $25 for the band or more if you go the ticket route (unless you plan of doing 1-3 rides). The fair was packed this year, as always - but management has taken a hit for the worse :( There was trash overflowing from most trash receptacles, overflow water from vendor stalls on the pavement and general lack of management at the rides. People management at the rides was non-existent and the lines were badly managed, if at all! Most of the rides had over 20 minutes of wait times late evening on a weekend! The agri part was good for the kids - lots of cows, sheep, rabbits, and other farm animals. We did not do the demolition derby, etc. events so this review does not include those events. The pig race was a waste of time - most of the folks did not have clear sight to the race and the kids came away disappointed :( Food options were decent, if not great. All in all, a good local Summer Fair for the DC region. read more

Always a good time at the Agricultural fair at the Montgomery county fairgrounds. These fairgrounds also get used for a bunch of other events but the Agricultural fair is the main reason for huge crowds here. Huge plot of land, easy to access and always well maintained. I always recommend parking away and walking in when it comes to the fair though. There's normally a $10 parking fee on the fairgrounds. read more

Montgomery County Fairgrounds - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Here to see Cirque Italia. So far, seems like a small operation. Only $3 for parking, a moon bounce $5, face painting, concessions ($5 for snow cones), souvenirs, single main stage. 13 rows of seating (3 price levels, but we had a buy 1 adult get 1 kid free for l) that went pretty much 9/10ths of the way around. So far, the acts have been pretty good! Acrobats, jugglers,aerialist, doggy show, and aerialist with water show. AND they encourage photography & posting on social media. The only minus is that it got pretty hot under the tent. End result....2 adults & 3 kids (even a teen)....had a great time & really enjoyed the show! read more

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Over priced. Undercooked food. Everything you expect at a fair but all the worst parts amplified.

DERRYK! Stop stealing my FTRs! DAMMIT! Um, what Derryk says with a few notes: 1) It's now $5 to park, then $10 to enter, THEN $20 for 24 tickets (most rides cost 3 tickets). Gouge much? I remember back in the day when $5 parking got you in, and you could get enough tickets to ride all night for $10. Yes, I'm old. I also walked 10 miles to school, uphill, in the snow, each way. 2) Farm animals stink. No, they really really do. After years of reading "Charlotte's Web" and watching "Babe" (where NO ONE mentions farm animal stink), you end up with an idealized view of pigs and cows and goats. Yeah, they are dirty, drooly, and most importantly - they STINK. 3) The only exception to this, is the Bunny Barn. Bunnies don't stink, and they are insanely adorable. And the only barn that also has fans going. Thank god. 4) There are Purell dispensers outside of each animal barn area. USE THEM. 5) Special shows, like the much touted Demolition Derby costs extra. In addition, the smoke from the wrecked engines/cars stink and will probably cause more lung cancer then smoking a pack of cigs for a year. 6) There's a ton of food, but very little seating (the few picnic tables are so covered in grime that I shudder to think about it), so think about that before you buy a funnel cake, a corn dog, a deep fried Oreo and a large drink...then look perplexed as you try to figure out how to walk and eat all that. 7) Yes, I realize that county fairs are great for kids, but if you're kid is so small as to need a stroller - I HIGHLY recommend that you just skip this until they are older. There are a TON of people at this thing, and the end result is that your kid will be hot, scared, constantly jostled, and will be crying the entire time. 8) If it's edible, it can be deep-fried...and you will be able to find it at one of the stands. But do us all a favor and don't "wonder" about the obesity epidemic that is raging America as you're scarfing down the deep-fried Twinkie covered in chocolate sauce. 9) This past year, we witnessed a young lady get stuck on the "Super Shot" ride. Her harness wouldn't unclip...and the fire department had to be called in to cut her out. Ride at your own peril. Also know that if that should happen, both my brother and I will be there taking pictures. 10a) This is to all the men: I know it's hot out, and I know that it's the County Fair, so a certain level of "casualness" is expected...but PLEASE DEAR GOD ALMIGHTY KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON. No one needs to see your hairy, flabby belly. Too horrific for me to even take pictures of to mock later. *shudder* 10b) This is to all the women: I realize that it's a miracle that your man finally decided to take you out on a date, so you want to be all pretty and look all nice, but this is a FAIR. It's on open gravel and dirt. Wearing those 4" stilettos may seem like a cute idea at the time, but what will end up happening is that you will hurt your feet (or twist your ankle), your man will get all mad at you for ruining a good time and embarrassing him in front of his homeboys, and then to top it all off, when you get home, you're going to notice that there it's covered in goat poo, and you'll never get the smell out. Save yourself the heartache and just wear tennis shoes. I've always enjoyed the MoCo Fair, but in the past few years, it's been more and more apparent that the Fair has outgrown the space. It's jammed packed and the lines are ridiculous. Fun for nostalgia and the kitch. read more

St upid. Parking is a disaster. Our tax dollars at work. Cheap, crappy exhibitions. Stay away read more

You know what I love? huh anybody no...? No one knows the answer... well silly it comes around every year around this time second week in August and they have it here in Montgomery County. At one point a couple of years ago they were talking about ploughing it all over and building a bunch of condos and retail stores here, but enough of such nonsense that's fools talk. What I love.... what the people love is the annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. Where else can you see some of the most ummm... interesting looking people this side of Appalachians, funny thing when cousins breed.... but I regress. Carnival people have a culture and appearance all there own like something out of a movie but I like that it's all part of the fun I wouldn't have it any other way. Just an end note I like to mention very important; "If you go drunk and act stupid be aware there are little children everywhere so watch the language and sluty behavior, drunken loud college age girl with the 3 dudes over at the fish bowl game" and one other thing "parents don't let your teen girls go out the door to this place dressed like little easy skank ho's... you know... just saying okay." The carnival itself also has a very unique vibe, from the silly one sided can't win without dropping a ton-o-cash games to the crazy and scary looking rides. Notice how I said scary looking as in are they safe? They look like you could loose your lunch on "some of them there things." Spinning you up down all around like a spinning wheel goes round and round first there's up and then there's down..... oh sorry there I go again singing like Tom Jones. The most favorite ride for wife and I is the big wheel the Ferris wheel nice and easy moving slowly around giving you full view of the fair grounds and all the way out to 355 and beyond. Then there is the farm animals with a oink oink here and a moo moo there and everything else they even have 3 big double hump camels this year probably 3 camels for the 3 wise men hehe get it... 3 cam.... aww forget it. My feeble attempt at humor. Anywho once you get past the smell it's really nice to sit there and moo at the cows, wife gets a big kick out of me trying to bond with all the animals by making animal noises. Look for horses and a host of other animals and don't forget to check out the rabbit barn there you will find some of the biggest bunnies outside of the playboy mansion. Auctions, rodeo and demolitian derbys all add to the fun you might even see a cow giving birth pretty interesting but watch that on a empty stomach if you are squeamish. The midway games are for the most part a rip off cause many are rigged like the shooting games. The sights are way off, I only wish I could bring one of my target guns there then I'll show you what hitting the target is all about. Other games are just by nature more difficult than they look but wife won a goldfish hey! Unfortunately early this morning the little fishy had died sometime during the night.... poor little fish wife felt real bad. :( I'm just glad we had put him in a fish bowl and not my pond nothing worst than introducing sick fish to healthy fish. Other things include venders selling hand crafted items and of course the produce barn where you will see some prize winning fruits and vegetables huge 300 pound pumpkins and home grown bees honey etc. You might find a Christian youth group doing skits in one of the tents and there are usually some politico tent set up trying to get votes. Police all around so it's pretty safe there and with some of the swarmy looking characters circling around you need them. So with all the arts and crafts the farm animals, the rides, the games, the shows, the crazy people what else is there? I know the food!!! You are in junk food heaven over here. You will find everything from corn dogs to asian stir fried, I even see bubble tea here this year. But all the usual carnival gastronomy stomach rockers and then some. My favorite is the huge atomic dinosauras sized turkey legs. Hory clap!!! Both wife and I shared well she left it up to me really but my gosh that thing was a beast to eat but I ate it all felt like one of those wild animals that you see on the Discovery Channel ripping into the flesh of fresh kill real manly caveman like Grrrrrrr!!! Overall a ton of fun and lots to do. Good to take an afternoon with the family go and have fun. It's not cheap like it use to be but discounts are sometimes available on-line. Like Halloween it only comes once an year and harolds the beginning of the fall season. Enjoy read more

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As county fairs go, this one is petty far down my list. At first things got off to a good start. We went to the kids area and they had a game show where every kids won a prize. My older boy got on the first game, which was good because he didn't loose interest. After his game he actually sat and watched the other kids play a little while. Things went down hill from there. I had used my bank card to pay at the front gate, but when I tried to use it at one of the vendor's it was shut off. Turns out it was a security freeze because some retailer I used had their credit card system breeched. Not the fair's fault, right? True, but the vendor gave me real attitude about it, acting as if I was using a bad credit card. When I used my actual credit card and it went though, she acted all defensive. Finally, the rides were a scam. Three tickets per ride is a fair price. However, considering that $5 gets you four tickets and $10 gets you eight. Inevitably, you end up with tickets you can use, if you only want to go on a few rides. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Maybe this place is better at night with no kids, but I would have a hard time believing it. read more

My kids love this fair! They love farm animals, kiddie rides, and carnival food. So to them it is heaven on earth. Happy kids = happy mom; especially in the summer time, when school it out and they want to get out and do stuff. This is a great place to take them. I like to go during the week day, right when it opens; less crowds and closer parking. Kids under 11 and under are FREE, so that's great for those with preschoolers and elementary school aged kids. read more

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Not sure what happened this year, but it was the worst MoCo Fair I have been to in about 20 years. From parking snafus to a lack of visible police for crowd control, piles of trash everywhere (including diapers), terrible shows (monster truck actually stopped 30 minutes in so we lost of $45 - non refundable), rude volunteers...it was mismanaged, poorly designed and executed. For the amount you pay ($10 to park, $10 to enter per person, $15 for truck show per person, insane ticket prices)...it was disgraceful. Over $100 for 2 people for 2 hours...1 hr waiting to park, 15 in line to get in (even after buying online tickets), 30 at monster truck where 20 minutes they were repairing a broken truck). Few rides and each had about 50-100 ppl in line. Absolute waste of money and time. Go to Dave and Busters at Arundel Mills or Monster Golf in Rockville...cost about 75% less, but it's cleaner, staff is polite and you won't leave feeling fleeced. I can honestly say that we will not be back again. Ever. read more

The turnout seems down this year, but the fair just got underway. I enjoyed the day. read more

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My son and I had a wonderful time! This was our first time going and the monster truck show was awesome! I was concerned about parking, but you guys made it easy and less stressful by commuting the patrons from the mall to the fair via school busses. We even enjoyed that ride..lol..great job and we look forward to next year! Best, KJ Silver spring, MD read more

I can't wait to go here when the weather is warm, the apple pie or bake-offs are happening, and the 4H'ers are in full force. The area is well laid-out and has plenty of parking read more

I go every year. A large food selection. The grilled cheese sandwiches from The Big Cheese are not to be missed! Just like Mom used to make. Weekends can be crowded. Go on a weekday. Allow at least 3 hours just to walk around. Parking is available at Lakeforest Mall with a shuttle bus to the fairgrounds. Ride On Bus 55 stops 2 blocks away. The fair is a great day trip. read more

Up until this year, I have always loved the MoCo Ag Fair. This year, they decided to make this more about making money and hiring sideshow exhibits that exploit more animals. This year, they have this absurd attraction called A Grizzly Experience, where some company from Florida travels around the countryside to show off their trained Alaskan Grizzly Bears. Is this what an Agricultural Fair is in 2014? This company charges money for folks to feed the bears marshmallows on sticks so people can watch the "natural behavior" of bears. First, I believe an Ag Fair should concentrate on agricultural animals. Cows, lambs, goats, chickens, rabbits, etc... Second, an Alaskan Grizzly bear is not designed to travel around in a truck to sit in a cage in the middle of August in Maryland. If you believe this "educational" exhibit should be removed, let the folks know by reaching out to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair. Lmurek@mcagfair.com read more

Extremely long lines like 40 people per ride , they should stop letting in people after it's too packed literally no room to walk. Employees are rude and aren't very helpful , never going back. read more

Flea Market every Saturday and Sunday 7am -4pm pm. nest place 5o rind great deal. Ask for Mr. Johnson. you can also click on link here. http://johnsonshows.com/?page_id=84 read more

Signage not so good. Chris Mcginess was so nice greeting us as friends. The cold water staged in several areas were greatly appreciated.

They always have flea markets, festivals, county fairs, etc for the community to enjoy. I love how flexible it can be and the awesome parking. read more

low rated fair. more money even for parking! ONLY CASH. in this day and age. only cash everywhere. most vendors are cash, tickets for all rides is ONLY cash. Very few vendors had signs for visa and mastercard (less 20%), out of these half said their machine is not working. We left with spending only $20 which was in my emergency pouch. Would have spent a lot more if they had taken credit card. No manager on duty even when I asked and looked around. With only 22 tickets for $20 it was difficult to even divide among the children. They wouldn't even refund the tickets as we wanted to just leave. The ride operators were rude and not used to providing service for a ride. just looked sad them sitting there with no interest. they wouldnt tell the children how to sit or check after they had settled. You are cutting down most suburbanites as we don't carry cash nor ATM cards. read more

the agricultural fair in august was truly a sad experience. the animals are roasting at all times. the food is terrible and there really aren't any vendors anymore. the fairgrounds needs to plant more trees and give everyone a break from the downtroddingn heat. there was no advertising telling people the fair was in town, so there were few people attending. they can do much better-much much better. if they don't improve, they should drop the event. read more