BRTC @ Faquier County Fair

Blue Ridge Thunder Cloggers performed twice today at the Fauquier County Fair. We had only 12 performers, with at least four of them having started performing the weekend of the 4th or more recently. I ended up dancing 6 out of 7 dances for the first performance and 5 out of 7 dances for the second performance. I'm feeling very tired.

Added Note: The stage was shallower (front to back) than is ideal for the routines. During the first dance of the second performance, I was at the very back and caught the tap of my shoe on the edge of the stage. It pulled out two of the four nails holding the tap. I felt rather distracted for the rest of the performance--the steps had a new feel and I kept wondering if I was going to lose my tap.
 
It was interesting to compare a Virginia county fair to my memories of the county fairs I participated in growing up in Kansas.

The first difference was probably the admissions fee--none of that at our county fair in Kansas.

Ribbons at the fair today were marked, even for 4-H'ers, as 1st, 2nd,...5th with participation ribbons for additional entries. In Kansas, they tried to encourage a less directly competitive view, by awarding purple, blue, red, and white ribbons based on the quality of each entry with as many of each color awarded as the judged deemed appropriate. Then only the purple ribbons were competitively judged for champion and grand champion prizes.

Having been active in the clothing project, I sought out that portion of the fair, only to find fewer than 10 entries. Though the clothing project at the Kansas county fair has been diminishing, my memories are of dozens of entries that took all morning to judge the style review.

Sheep showing in t-shirt and tennis shoes? That's not the attire I remember, though it's probably more common than I recall.

Free bottles of water that have been on ice. Now that's something I appreciate that I don't remember in Kansas.
 
Of course, there were the many entries and events that I expect at a fair. There were lots of entries for sheep, beef, poultry, and rabbits. Also for photography, flowers, vegetables, and a wide variety of arts and crafts (though the category for Lego block creations was a new one for me). There was a midway with games and rides. There were business booths scattered through the buildings and around the grounds. I was also interested to note a tractor and lawn-mower driving safety course that had been set up and was testing teens.
 
Oh the memories of friendships created through 4-H and particularly through the fair.