The Local City Fair: A Perfect Family Day

I have absolutely loved going to the fair since I was little. I am a thrill seeker and wanted to ride every ride I could. Anyone else like this? 

I have two little ones {5 and 2} and they aren’t tall enough to ride the big rides, but the little rides will suffice for now. I can only ride the carousel or go down the slide nowadays. Why I love going to the fair though, is for an elephant ear. Deep fried dough topped with cinnamon and sugar….my favorite! 

Saturday afternoon, we loaded up our kids and took them to the Eastern Michigan State Fair in Imlay City. We’ve been attending this fair for three years now and absolutely love it. You pay a set price to get in, and it includes everything they have to offer. Included is parking, unlimited rides, petting zoo, and grandstand events. Grandstand events were held nightly and each night was a different event.  

New this year was a Sea Lion show. We really wanted to see that. Thought it started at five o’clock, and we arrived at at five, got lost and – just my luck – ended up finding it a half hour later!

The animals ::
We loved visiting the cows, chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep and pigs. The best thing I saw all day was a rabbit sitting in front of a box fan, hair blowing back behind her. She was so content.

 

One of the biggest rabbits I have ever seen

The weather was hot and humid, with little wind. If you’ve ever been around animals in July, you know what I’m about to say. The mix of hot, humid weather and farm animals, you get a wonderful and distinct fair aroma.

My girls loved the animals!

The carnival rides ::
We knew that my youngest who is about 36″ tall could only ride a few rides. My oldest, who is a smidge under 48″, could ride a few more than her younger sister. Can you imagine the tantrums that got thrown because of this? I tried two rides and my youngest hated them. We found the slide and she was so happy. FINALLY! Then everyone was getting hangry, so we decided to grab some carnival food. Another of my favorites! I mean come on, who doesn’t love carnival food? 

Carousel

We had Italian sausage, pizza, loaded chips {melted cheese, bacon pieces and green onions on top of homemade chips}, and a hot dog. We were right in front of this event called the Globe of Death – dirt bikes riding in a round metal cage. The kids were getting antsy and wanted to leave so I didn’t get to see what happened. Which I’m okay with, because my heart was racing watching them! Since we paid for unlimited rides we went to seek out more. We went on the ferris wheel and ran through the kids’ maze, played a game of basketball and my oldest won a stuffed fish. 

Riding the ferris wheel

We walked over to the demolition derby and the stands were so full, there was nowhere to sit. We finished the fair off with the Lego Room. These were fantastic. There was a model of an airport complete with planes and helicopters, a farm with animals and a farmer, a carnival with a ferris wheel, and a park surrounded by businesses. Amazing! 

Legos

My girls were getting run down, we were there for over three hours. Oh, you know that elephant ear I said was one of my favorites? We got in the car and I realized I NEVER got my elephant ear. Ugh, so we stopped and got ice cream on the way home, the next best thing! 

We all had such a great time. My oldest talked about it all night and the next day. He kept asking when we could go back. Overall, we had a great time and a great way to spend time as a family. What’s your favorite, local, summer fair?

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We are passionate about the Mid-Michigan community and the moms who live here. Our goal is to make this community feel just a little bit smaller. By using both our website, as well as, various social media outlets, we are able to keep you up to date on family-friendly activities around town, provide advice on motherhood, and encourage each of you to get out and explore all that our wonderful area has to offer!