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Photography: Sacramento County Fair

“Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all.”—E.B. White

I was a 4-H kid. I started out showing guinea pigs when I was about 12 and slowly moved up to horses. The culmination of my year was always the Sacramento County Fair.

This week we attended the final hours of the fair to cheer on my daughter’s friend who had entered a flower arrangement in the youth exhibit. While the animals were almost all gone, it was still great fun to wander the fair with my camera. I hope these images spark a bit of joy or memory for you today. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a great rest of your week.

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I’m the girl in the center with my champion guinea pig (he had fancy pedigree papers!) Clearly, this was the era of big hair and even bigger hoops.

Me on my horse Rocket sometime in the early 90s.

65 thoughts on “Photography: Sacramento County Fair”

  1. I’ve never been to a place like that, but it looks sooo cute. I hope you had fun. I like all of them because they’re vibrant.

    You look pretty on the pictures you posted of your youth—I wonder what are the contexts?

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    • County fairs, in my opinion, are so much better than the giant State Fairs. Those old pics are from my old 4-H days showing at the county fair. I started out showing guinea pigs and ended up showing horses. Some of my favorite memories are at the fair.

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      • Oh, that’s soooo cool. I haven’t gone to many of those. They’re always so cluttered and where I live isn’t as really that beautiful—but the people here try.

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  2. Loved the multi-coloured rows of glass jars you captured & glad you had such a magical time 🙂 Real Old West vibes from your horse-riding throwback – great nostalgic snapshots!

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    • Thank you, Tom! Those jars are part of a game where you win a fish (still something I think is horrible considering how many fish don’t make it home after the fair). Yeah, my old fair days are far behind me, but I’ll carry those memories forever with me.

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    • Me too! I couldn’t take pictures of the county fair without mentioning Charlotte’s Web. I’m sad I arrived after the auction and missed most of the animals. I guess I should go back next year!

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  7. Fun seeing the fair photos. We have one here every late September. I haven’t been in years, though. I entered a few competitions, won a few ribbons, and later on I sewed sheep muzzles for a lady who entered sheep.
    I like your photos of the guinea pig and horse 🙂

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    • That’s so fun! I didn’t know sheep muzzles were handmade. Thank you for the kind comments and for sharing your fair memories. I love hearing about people’s connections to things.

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      • I’m sure you can buy the sheep muzzles ready made, but this local lady wanted hand made ones for her craft shop, along with other things. They were very easy to make and she paid me a dollar per each. I could make a hundered pretty fast. 🙂

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  11. OK, yea, colorful those rides kind of things, although me no like anything that makes my stomach move the wrong way around. Yellow duckies, I do like, who wouldn’t. I got one not six feet away from me. Love animal critters – goat, little horses, and – Adorable you, be it guinea or horsey. And that carousel face, intriguing yea.

    Mine was the Santa Clara CF, farm country. Odd this & that. Free slices of white Langendorf bread, barely pizza – a splash of tomato & cheese, but I loved it – money from my own pocket – how independent, grown up of me. No great shakes.

    But ask me about the Renaissance Pleasure Faire at Black Point, north of SF – that was a slice of paradise.

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    • I’m not a fan of the rides either! They are colorful, but you won’t catch me riding on any. Thank you for sharing your memory from the Santa Clara County Fair. I love hearing about your stories and we HAVE TO TALK about the Renaissance Faire at Black Point. I went there a few times in my teenage years and it was MAGIC. Sheer and utter magic. I want to hear your stories!

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      • Yep, it’s a date about the Faire. I went many many times, loved every visit.

        And I went once, a big giant roller thing. Was a birthday person’s wish, so I did. Now I’m done.

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      • Years ago I participated in a mentorship program where we were placed with a child as a “big sister” and I took her all kinds of fun places. She talked me onto one of those upside down twisty rides at the fair and I believe I cried 🙂 Wasn’t my finest moment.😂

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  14. Very interesting you sharing your memories for country fair. I like. All photography is excellent. Pretty looking on 🐎 photo. I love all photos. Beautiful look Black & white your photo, Bridgette!❤️

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  17. I was in 4-H, too! I never competed in the county fair but went there every year. My mom and my sister competed from time to time. So these photos brought back memories. 🙂 I must say that the photo of the goat with the tired eyes was my favorite. I am sure that the fair can be tiring for a goat, too.

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    • I have so many found 4-H memories! Thank you for sharing a bit of yours with me—I’d love to hear more about what things you did. I started out with guinea pigs but moved through rabbits, dog training, and then horses. I would have done more animals but I did not grow up on a farm and boarding a horse was expensive enough! That goat was so done. Poor thing was in a petting zoo and I can imagine it’s got some stories to tell.

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    • Through my time in 4-H, I raised and bred guinea pigs (cavies), rabbits, doves, and horses. I even did dog obedience with my schnauzer. So many things to learn and do in this world! I wish my kids would have shown any interest in 4-H, but they do love our guinea pig Toast.

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  20. Beautiful photos! I love the one of you showing your horse! It brings back memories for me. My sister used to show our horse, me on the other hand, got second place just for actually staying on the horse through a whole lesson. Haha, It’s ironic that I now love horses, and no longer have one, but when I was a child I was dreadfully afraid!

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    • Thank you for the kind comment and for sharing your horse history with me! It’s a bit reversed for me. As a kid, I was fearless. I trained horses and even did some rodeo. Now, after seeing my mom get really injured years ago, horses hold no appeal for me. I don’t want to do anything which might injure me or my kids. But I sure do miss riding!

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    • I’m not a fan of fair rides, but I love those at Disneyland. They are very different for me—it’s about safety. Those carnival rides just never seemed safe to me. I’m glad you liked the rubber ducks. 🙂

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    • I’m glad you noticed! I did a similar thing when I visited Disneyland last year. I think it’s actually more about me not liking to do crowd shots or fearing people’s privacy by aiming a camera in their direction.

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    • I really like #3 too. I avoid playing the games at the fair at all costs, especially having to talk to those who run the games. However, it was fun to look at them through the camera lens. I’m glad the images worked for you.

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