Hopkinton State Fair NH – A Labor Day Tradition

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Four score, well, okay, not that long ago, but well over forty-five years ago was the first time I went to the Hopkinton State Fair in NH.  Every Labor Day weekend my mom would take us kids to do two things.  One – get apples at the apple orchard because Macintosh apples were in their prime for being crisp and tart; and two – we went to the Hopkinton State Fair.

Of course, going to the fair was the ultimate activity of the two.  We got to go on rides, had lots of fun with the animals (pigs, goats, sheep, cattle, horses, poultry, rabbits), there was lots of food to be had and we all know that nothing compares to fair food, the Demolition Derby, tractor pulls, venturing through the booths where people would sell products and crafts.  Then there were barns that held the 4-H and Grange prize winners of different categories.  There was always so much fun to be had at the fair.

Here it is 2016 and that Labor Day weekend tradition of going to the Hopkinton State Fair is still going strong.  Our family goes every year.  There have only been a few changes over the years.

• There are fewer people selling crafts and MLM products – kind of a disappointment since our family really enjoyed seeing all the crafts people made.
• The Midway – there are two now and has been this way for many years.  One caters to little people and the other caters to those who are older.  Event-goers can buy single tickets or wristbands.  Wristbands cost $25, but you can ride on all the rides you want all day – definitely the way to go if you plan on riding a lot of rides – you’ll save a lot of money.  One will find old-time favorites like the Merry Go-round and the Ferris Wheel, to the more modern rides like the Zipper.  A few family rides are amongst the two midways.

Above is the Little People’s Midway – Below is the Older Kids/Adults Midway

 

• Food oh my.  There are a lot more food stands.  There’s one stand that’s been there since I was a kid – Sam, Joe and Ed’s.  If I remember correctly, all that one could get way back when were Italian Sausage subs.  Now one can get those, meatball, and steak & cheese subs.

And if you’ve ever shied away from buying one of those big donuts at the fair, as we have all these years until this year, I urge you to try one!   I had it in my head that they would be dry, stale – just not tasty at all.  Was I SO wrong!  We bought one at Betsy’s Country Fair Donuts to try after a friend had talked about not being able to wait to have one at the fair.  Let. Me. Tell. You. – Oh. My. Goodness!  The glazed one was out of this world!  We wished we had bought more.  I wish I had snapped a picture of that goodness!

• Games – tons of games with prizes to be won.

This young lady wanted a fish in the worst way.  She actually got two.  One was given to her and the other her grandfather won.

• Animals – animals galore.  Our favorites are the pigs and the goats.  We spend a lot of time in those barns and it seems like there are more animals than when I was a kid.

This guy was our favorite animal this year.  Super friendly and very lovable.

• A change that came a few years back was a Petting Zoo.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  There was a small one with a few animals, but that one doesn’t compare to the newer one. Charmingfare Farms brings in lots of goats – even Mamma’s and their babies.  They bring in lots of sheep.  There are Llamas.  Some years they’ve had horses – huge horses.  They’ve even had pigs – teacups and pot-bellied.  People can buy bags of food to feed the animals.  Kids just love going to see these animals; and quite frankly – it’s one of our most favorite spots.

These guys tore apart this young lady’s hair!  It was in a bun, but as you can see – it no longer is.

All the goats are so friendly and trusting.  This little one sucked on her thumb for quite some time.

This is one of the three Llamas.  She/he was the sassy one out of the three.

Sheep.  Yes, there were lots of sheep to feed and pet.

• The Demolition Derby – the derby is a HUGE attraction at the fair.  It’s always sold out, and now that one can buy tickets online, it sells out even faster.  We weren’t able to get tickets for Saturday’s show.  But – I was able to get a couple pictures from the outside.  Do you see all those people???  Amazing!

This is just part of one side of the grandstands where people are anxiously awaiting the start of Demolition Derby.

Below – the crews are getting ready for the Demolition Derby.

We had a blast at the fair.  We’ll have to wait another year before we can go back to the Hopkinton State Fair – it only happens on Labor Day Weekend.  That’s a long wait.

The Hopkinton State Fair is on Facebook.  Like their page to keep up on all the excitement to come!

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