Years ago we would take a night with our children and go to the Lincoln County Fair when it was located on the south side of Afton in an area now filled with commercial businesses and offices. It was smaller in those years, both in size and length of time.

We toured the community displays in a little wooden building, walked through the animals in a smaller livestock area, enjoyed the carnival rides and had a meal at one of the stands represented by the various county towns. Seems like Freedom and Bedford always did a good job and there was always a nice selection of home made pies from the talented family kitchens.

This week, my wife and I took some of those same children  back to the fair, but this time they had spouses and children of their own. We came with the next generation.

We still enjoyed the community booths displaying the talents of people throughout the county.

Livestock has changed. Gone are the dairy cattle, but still a good display of projects from young producers,  not necessarily raising the livestock on the large ag operations but still involved on their own projects or working with a great county extension program. The carnival is twice the size with some rides that can test our fortitude.

The individual communities no longer provide that homemade food but now commercial vendors provide other selections. We have our favorites, as exemplified with the SVI Weekday Wake-Up Text -in Topic.

Entertainment has moved from local talent to visitors who bring their performances to the fair.

Regardless of the changes, it’s still a great time of year to enjoy family and friends at the Lincoln County Fair. It’s a wonderful tradition.