Island Fair

This weekend was the island fair.  Though it’s nothing compared to the Texas state fairs we used to go to — with stalls upon stalls of animals and vendor after vendor selling a ridiculously scary amount of fried “foods” (many of which were deathly even before being batter-dipped and finished in hot oil) — our little island’s fair turned out to be a lovely afternoon diversion.

There were animals, of course —

ponies, sheep, ducks, and lots more — which are all Nora needs to be happy

so long as one or two are within petting range.

There were games

and there was a gaggle of scarecrows (we’re going to pretend that multiple scarecrows are called a gaggle, because I love that word). One of Nora’s favorite books is The Wizard of Oz; she has us read it to her over and over, and I swear she fully expected one of these scarecrows to come to life and start talking to her.   She spent a long time inspecting each one, looking at them, feeling them, and giving them hugs.

There was food.  Much healthier and more delicious than fried oreos and twinkies, our fair had seafood fresh from the sea (some of which was fried, but that’s okay when it was hauled in off the boat not too many days prior), it had local honey, and best of all, Island Girls’ Popsicles, which make a great special treat and we pretend are healthy since they are made on-island of all real ingredients.  And, well, they’re just too good to resist.

There was a place to take cute pictures

and we can’t forget about Tom Never’s playground just across the field.

If you ask islanders about their favorite time of year, most will tell you it is fall.  September and October, after the craziness of tourist season has slowed down, but it’s still nice enough to spend time outdoors, maybe even go swimming, and there’s still lots of fun things to do.  Though I may be forever doomed to be a “wash-a-shore,” I am no exception to the islander love of fall.  Quiet events like these, absent bustling crowds yet full of friends, on sunny, slightly blustery days that hold promise of colorful leaves, are one of my favorite parts about Nantucket.  I never tire of watching Nora discover the world around her and finding joy isn’t hard on beautiful fall days.  But most of all, I’m reminded how much I love about small towns and simple small town fun.