Wednesday, August 16, 2023: An event that looked special came along, and it caught my interest: Middletown Grange Fair, 576 Penns Park Road, Wrightstown (Bucks County), Pennsylvania (215-598-7240). This fair was the closest Bucks County had to a county fair, and they must be doing something right because the Middletown Grange has been running this fair since 1948! I arrived on opening day, and the first thing I noticed were amusement rides that looked similar to the ones I’ve seen at the New Jersey State Fair and the Warren County, New Jersey Farmers Fair. (I wrote about both fairs in The State I’m In issue #5—NJ State Fair and Dotty’s Dimensions: The Column issue #1—Warren County Farmers Fair.) Next, I walked through about a half dozen buildings displaying many different things: animal, vegetable, and other stuff. Among the things I saw were displays of plenty of produce, flowers, and other plants that included a hydroponics plant growing area, as well as canned & baked foods, needle crafts in clothing, quilts, samplers, knitted & crocheted items, etc.—and that was the first and second building. After I ate lunch that I bought from one of the many food vendors, I went to the rest of the buildings where I observed livestock and other animals: horses, mules, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, alpacas, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and so on. Outside, I looked at a lot of tractors and other farm equipment, pony rides for children, and other areas of interest for children to keep active while at the fair. Meanwhile, throughout the day, this fair offered a full day’s worth of special events: contests, animal and tractor races, instructional demonstrations, and so forth. In other words, the Middletown Grange Fair has something for almost everyone for those five days in mid-August.
With the cost of traveling going up, the best advice I could give to someone traveling a distance away--more than about 200 miles from home, would be to research on what attractions are available within 200 miles from home. Then, when you pick your long distance destination, research that area too, and ask yourself, "Are these attractions unique to this area that I'm visiting?" That way, you won't waste time and money visiting places that are similar to something closer to home.
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