So let's get to it! This post is about my journey to the Cherokee Co. Fair, way down in Columbus, KS. I had never been to the far reaches of Southeast Kansas before, so every part of this trip was fresh and new for me. Columbus is a sleepy little Kansas town. The tallest structures were the grain silos. It was a scorching 105 degrees when I got to the fairgrounds(it was over 100 at every fair I attended on this leg of my trip). Because of the heat, not much was happening when I got there. The 4-H kids were trying to keep their animals cool and most of the carnival workers were nowhere to be found. As I was wandering around the carnival rides, a large man, smoking a cigar, in a golf cart rolled up next to me. Turns out he was the owner of the carnival company and offered to give me a golf cart tour of the fairgrounds. I turned down his offer, mostly because he was so big that there was hardly enough room for me in that cart. Not to mention that he was very much a stranger to showers. At any rate, we chatted for a bit, he was super nice. I found out that he and his company were out of Lyford, TX and they do over 45 carnivals per year. He told me I had the run of the place and to photograph what I wanted.
I decided to escape the heat, so I returned to my hotel room($35 a night and a total dive! I loved it, my wife would not have). Anyways, I got back to the fair as the sun was setting and it was already packed. Squealing kids everywhere. I photographed almost until the carnival shutdown for the night, stopping to have a few beers at the beer garden with the locals(one of my favorite parts about these fairs). I had a woman ask me where she knew me from. I told her I had never been to Columbus, KS before, to which she replied, "no, I've seen ya on t.v. or somethin". I think the heat and or beer had her confused.
So, here are some of my images from the Cherokee Co. Fair. I do my own printing from my studio, so if you'd like to purchase a print, feel free to email me or you can go to my Kansas Fair Affair Prints Gallery.
Thanks for looking!
Next post, Franklin County Fair - Ottawa, KS..
