Greetings!

This past week we were blessed with the presence of a princess, not of Morocco, but of the Maine Strawberry Pageant. Her name is Anya Fegel and she was the winner in the 10 - 13 age category which qualifies her as the Maine Strawberry Princess. Anya came into the Dine-ah with her family to eat dinner and graciously posed for this photo below. She was accompanied by her family and listed her Mom as Loralee Fegel and they reside on the Ridge Road in China. Anya was a very pleasant and well spoken young lady and we wish her all the best as she goes to various fairs in Maine throughout the remainder of the summer. Sounds like you are going to be a busy little girl!      

Speaking of fairs, the circuit is in full swing with the Skowhegan Fair opening today and running through the 18th. Fairs have been a big part of the summer for many people over the years and in particular, to Maine farmers. Many, many hours are spent preparing animals to be shown, growing vegetables to be judged, and working on arts, crafts and baked goods that fill the various exhibit halls around the state. And we can't forget all the effort that is put into the animals that compete in the pulling arena.   

A couple of other events that are typical with fairs are harness racing and lumberjack competitions. What is your favorite part of going to the fair? Is it some of the events that I mentioned or is it the some of the food items that are so popular during the fair season? Give us a shout and let us know and we will provide a list next week to share with all.  

Some of my fondest memories of attending fairs when I was in my teens were trying to beat the games (that were next to impossible) in order to win a huge stuffed animal for the young lady in your life. Beating the basketball game was possible if you spent enough money even though the hoop was much smaller and higher than regulation and the ball much larger. After all, it would only take $10-$12 to win a $5 stuffed animal and we thought it was great deal.  

One year, and I am going to estimate it to be 1970, which put me at all of 16 years old, my friend and I went to the Union Fair on my Bridgestone 90 motorcycle. I'm not sure of the game that I played but I won two huge blow up alcohol bottles and deflated them for the ride home. We stopped about 100 yards before my house, blew them up and came into the driveway to the amazement of several younger kids that happened to be there. They couldn't believe that we rode home the whole way home with those two large bottles.So simple yet so entertaining.  

Today, I enjoy watching the lumberjacks perform, although I must admit, I have a huge concern for their safety as I watch. There is nothing safe about a man with a double bit axe chopping notches into a tree (pole), wedging a hand carved wooden plank into the notch, jumping up onto the plank, chopping another notch higher in the pole and repeating the same process until they reach the top of this pole. This is done without any fall protection and then they cut the top of the tree (pole) off, standing 10 feet into the air on this small plank swinging an axe as fast and as hard as they can. The winner is determined by who gets to the top and cuts a piece of the pole off first. I have observed this competition many times and have never seen a serious injury, thank God. It would probably be the last one I watch if I observe someone getting hurt. I have always been amazed with the strength and agility of the competitors of which some of them travel great distances to compete.   

For those of you who compete in any event I wish you all the best. For those of you who do attend and support local country fairs,I hope that you enjoy them as much as ever. And for those who organize and run the fairs, I hope for good weather and large gates.   

And as I mentioned last week, in your travels we hope you visit us here at the Dine-ah, after all "Where food, friends, family & fun come together."

Hope to see you soon, thanks for following us through our newsletter.   

Norm  

For easy access, we have decided to provide a partial list of some of the  upcoming fairs in Maine below. This list just happened to be printed today in the "What's Happening" section of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.  

Windsor Fair August 26 to Sept 3

Blue Hill Fair August 30 to Sept 3

Harmony Free Fair  August 31 to Sept 3

Clinton Lions Fair Sept 6 to Sept 9

Litchfield Fair Sept 7 to Sept 9

Oxford County Fair Sept 9 to Sept 16

North New Portland Lions Fair Sept 14 to Sept 16   

Farmington Fair Sept 16 to Sept 22

Common Ground Country Fair Sept 21 to Sept 23 (Unity)

Cumberland Fair Sept 23 - Sept 29

Fryeburg Fair Sept 30 to October 7