The Lamb Show
We really enjoy going to the Strawberry Festival every year. Gary loves the food they have the Wisconsin Cheese that we wait all year to eat. (There was another, new WI Cheese booth there this year, but we went to the good one, the original.) They have Polish dogs, and Italian dogs, they have Philly Cheese Steak, and Gyros. There are funnel cakes which I adore and Elephant Ears that Gary savors. Then of course you can't pass up the 400 ways to eat strawberries while you are there. There are shakes and ice cream, there are chocolate covered and in a shortcake, there are just plain berries and sauces and jams. I'm starting to get hungry all over again just thinking about it.
I really enjoy walking through all the booths. There are the craft contest like crochet and quilting (one day I'm going to enter something). There are clothing contest for all ages. There are paintings and drawings some in ink, some in pencil, and some with pastels. Then in additional to all the contest pieces there are loads of booths with things for sale. There are folks that carve planes out of wood, and people that make furniture, there are hair bows for little girls and blocks and trucks for little boys. There are the leather shops that make belts and hat and my favorite purses. (There's one I've been eyeing for 4 years now, you can see it here.)
And who can forget the music. They have a number of groups that play off and on around the fairgrounds all day, mostly bluegrass groups, but they have a few that play oldies and an Indian group that plays all sorts of stuff on their native instruments. It's really interesting to hear some of the stuff they play, you always do a double take because it's not what you were expecting that song to sound like. 
The real draw at the Festival though is the animal shows. They have a number where you bring your entry up and it's judged on appearance, temperament, and conformity to the breed standard, stuff like rabbits and chickens. They also do the plant and horticulture show that way. However, the kids actually show pigs, lambs, goats, and cattle. Among the cattle there is the breed show for those who intend to use or sell their animals for breed and the steer show. It's always interesting to watch. While, for the most part, I have no idea what I'm looking for, Gary and Dad keep a running commentary. It always brings up great stories and memories from the 10 years Gary showed. Occasionally they all get to arguing about which one they think is the best, and since they all showed at least a few, it's fun to listen to them debate.
For a time Mom and Dad were on the committee for showing lambs. Infact, Dad started the lamb jumping contest, which is a real hoot to watch if you ever get the chance. Amanda was partial to the lambs over the other animals, and when Mom stepped down, Amanda took her place over. As a result Amanda, makes sure that her nieces and nephews were aware and at the lamb show this year. They always have a Pee-Wee Showman Class for the 3 year olds and up, before they begin to show their own lambs. It was started as a way to let the younger siblings of those who were showing get interested in the animals. Most kids this age, have no or little natural fear of the animals, and so it's a good time to expose them to the feel of the arena and talking to a judge. Last year Brystal was the only one old enough to show, but this year Brystal, Lilli, Britt, and Julia were all showing.
Brystal went first, and she needed almost no help at all. She was a regular chatter box with the girl who's lamb she showed, and again to the judge. They ask the kids what their name is and what is the name of their lamb. They also usually talk to them for a minute or two about their lamb, and then they get a ribbon. This year they also got a toy lamb, which was a big hit with our bunch. Brystal though, lead her lamb around more or less by herself and she was great! The next three went out with the second bunch. Lilli needed almost no help, though her ram, Rambo, wouldn't always come along. She was very talkative with the judge. Britt went out behind her. He had a lamb named Virginia. She was pretty mild mannered, but the girl who owned the lamb lead her, and Britt just walked around barely hanging on to the end of the rope. Julia was fourth out into the arena. She had a Cinnamon sheep, named you guessed it - Cinnamon, (who had two adorable twin lambs back in the pen) that more or less walked her around the ring. All the kids but Britt would tell the judge who they were and what their lamb's name was. Britt did whatever Lilli did, but wouldn't talk. Even Ruth got a little stuffed lamb. Like I said, it pays to have an Aunt on the Lamb Committee.
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