What do you like best at the County Fair? Mmmm ... I can almost smell those elephant ears cooking now - but shall I choose the cherry or apple filling? Maybe the cinnamon sugar this time. And don't those corn dogs smell yummy! Weren't they invented for fair goers? One state fair even has a corn dog eating contest.

County and state fairs are a ritual originally celebrating the end of summer, where all the farmers can show off the best of their crops and livestock. The slow pace of summer is gone and with it the swimming, hammock lounging and cookouts, though here in the Lowcountry, the latter lasts a bit longer. Students and teachers have returned to school, and families face tighter schedules and stricter rules. At the fair, we can stuff ourselves with normally "forbidden fruits" - french fries, corn dogs, fried mushrooms, funnel cakes, cotton candy.

You walk excitedly, moving through the Glenn Bates entrance building. You jostle with the throngs of thrill seekers, accept the pencils, leaflets and yardsticks handed out by the many exhibitors, including those outdoors such as the fire and police departments, sheriff's office, the tractor and equipment suppliers, the local auto dealerships. Licking your ice cream and cotton candy, nibbling your corn dog or doughnuts, you stroll the midway taking in the kiddy rides - cars, Wiggle Wurm, Hawg Heaven, motorcycles, merry-go-round - getting pictures of your little one, riding the ferris wheel. But you'd better be sure your tummy's settled before trying the Sky Wheel or Rocket. Maybe the Barrel Spin won't be so bad.

While you chow down on Fiske's french fries, take in one of the shows at the gazebo - Minnie Pearl is bound to be a hoot, and the kindergarteners are always so cute. Maybe you will see cloggers or gymnasts. But finish those eats before you amble across the way to see those gourmet eye-feasts, fair fare to truly delight. The detail in the wood carvings is just incredible. I remember when my mother stitched quilts from scraps out of necessity - these quilts and carvings are works of art. Wish I could get close enough to see those tiny stitches.

Speaking of art, wander across the midway to Artis Irick's House to see what local artists, students and adults, are showing in the OLA sponsored exhibit. Be sure to vote for your favorite in each adult category. Then view nature's paintbox of flowers: arrangements, pot plants and individual specimens - the biggest fern ever, that plant whose stinky blooms last only a day, pencil cacti, the varied interpretations of the garden club themes. Food for the soul!

Then on to the main exhibit building for more freebies. Surely someone is giving out bags to put all this in. There in the corner is another eye-feast; you can almost taste the beautiful canned goods, cakes, pies and cookies. Look at the hand crafts and ceramics. You can't miss the field crops display - sugar cane, trays of tomatoes, grapes, pecans, potatoes and herbs gracing the walls, even seed art created by youngsters.

Out again to the midway. It's dark now, and the midway is more alive than ever, glowing and blinking in all colors. Interspersed between rides and shows are games of chance. Since you're still full from your Kiwanis steak dinner, you heed the hawkers and decide to win a teddy bear with the ring toss or the birthday game.

Licking your ice cream cone, you wind down by viewing designer chickens, pigs, cows and rare breeds of other livestock in the Charles L. Shuler building. You haven't eaten at the Canaan Baptist Church booth yet or tasted Grandma Brown's cinnamon rolls and cappuccino. Come back to feast another day.

Ahhh, that fair fare!

* T&D Correspondent Iris Arant-Kittrell can be reached by e-mail at arant@mindspring.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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