Tonight we went with friends to the Appalachian Fair in Gray, TN.   We parked way too far away, spent way too much money, and got a little sunburned.  We also had loads and loads of fun!!  Sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer evening, right???   The last time I went to the Appalachian Fair was about 7 years ago when my daughter was really young.  My kids were completely ecstatic about going (of course) because they’re used to me being the Helicopter Mom who doesn’t let them do anything remotely scary.  I still cringe inside when I think about that gigantic ferris wheel we rode.  But you know what?  We survived and had a great time!

Tonight may have been the one and only time my children were as excited about I am about coupons.

Before heading to the fair, I had to get some cash.  I was prepared for the ticket prices but forgot about just getting through the gate!  Parking was $5 and it was VERY far away considering I was walking with my 2 young children on the road.  There were much closer parking spots near the gate; I should have kept driving to see what other options were there.  Admission was $8 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-11, and free for 5 and under.  So we spent $16 just getting into the fair.  Ouch.  We were given 2 Hardee’s Coupons immediately upon admission, which was nice. The rides were extremely pricey!    If you’re thinking about going, consider heading over on Wednesday night when you can purchase a bracelet for your kids.  That option wasn’t available tonight so for my 2 kids, I purchased the $50 ticket package which *I think* gave us 55 tickets.  This enabled them to ride about 8 rides each.  Most of the kid-friendly rides required 3 tickets per person (yes, parents have to “pay” too) and the bigger rides required 4 tickets.

There were some active rides like this one available for the kids.  So much fun!!!   The rides weren’t crowded at all.  My kids didn’t have to wait in line for any of the activities.  There were only a couple of things I didn’t like about the setup.  One was that the kiddie rides were so spread out.  We really walked our legs off!   I’m sure this is quite difficult for people with limited mobility who want to take their kids to the fair.  Also, it bothered me how often my children were called out (or downright yelled at) as an invitation to play a midway game.  While these games are fun and I’m sure the workers are encouraged to get the attention of fair-goers, I didn’t like that my kids were pressured to play.  It’s one thing if the worker addresses me; however, when someone starts trying to talk my kids into playing — not cool.  We just started to steer far enough away from the games that it seemed to deter the workers from initiating conversation.

One of our favorite parts of the fair was the petting zoo.  There were lots of baby animals in this area, including chickens and ducks.  I liked that many of the animals were kept in pens with their babies.  My children loved getting to feed the animals; the cones full of feed were $2 each.  There were many assistants there to help with petting the smaller animals like the ducklings and chickens.  They also got the bunnies out to be petted.  Oh how my kids rejoiced when they saw that these animals were for sale!!  Someday I think I might like to have some ducks or chickens, so it was fun to dream about it.  This area was quite messy, as you might imagine.  I was grateful that my kids were wearing inexpensive clothes like this $3.99 tee — just in case they got dirty!

We did avoid the fair food this time.  I ran out of cash before we could get a funnel cake, but we remedied that by stopping at Dairy Queen on the way home for a cold treat.  After all, it was a HOT humid day at the fair!

If you’re in the Tricities area, do you plan to visit the Appalachian Fair this year?