Sharon Springs is host to one of the most unique fairs I've ever seen. The town owns all of the rides at the fairground and on the nights of the carnival, every ride and game are run voluntarily by members of the community. Pretty darn cool.
I spent the day photographing the different fair events. There was a sort of rodeo for kids. I wish I could remember what they called it. Something like, "Little Bucks" ha! I'm sure that's wrong. Also, spent some time shooting their annual turtle race. That was a first. You'd think there would be a lot of action at a turtle race. Nope, turtles are slow. It's hard to make interesting images of people watching turtles sitting in the grass..
The carnival that night was really something to see. The town practically tripled in size as everyone in the county came out to the fair. I couldn't get over how incredible the sky was out there that night. I ran around fast and furious to catch the last little remaining color in the sky. So far, this fair has been my favorite.
Sharon Springs and the Wallace Co. Fair should be on every Kansan's "Places to visit" list.
Custom made prints of this fair can be purchased here...Prints
I grew up in Sharon Springs. Best fair to grow up going to every summer! :) Awesome photos! Glad to see my small hometown on a blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
DeleteToo bad you did not get any of the 4-H events going on that evening.
ReplyDeletesorry. I had been covering 4-H fairs for a week and I really didn't need anymore images of cows, goats, or chickens.
DeleteI also grew up in Sharon Springs. I haven't been back to the fair in over 10 years. Glad to see its still going strong!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Sharon Springs and now am privileged to be able to return with my grandson each summer. He is 4 and so enjoys the fair. He never wants to leave. It has been a great reminder of how a small town community comes together to support each other. Wish my grandson had the opportunity to grow up there.
ReplyDeleteIn that same weekend, many Sharon Springs families plan reunions-family or school which also brings in additional people to the fair. This community is close knit and come together well to make this and other activities work for our town.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Wallace Co. and remember when they started putting the caravel together. I was working at the coop station at that time and helped redo the rides. Hope I can get back to see at some point in time as I now it has grown a lot..
ReplyDelete"Little britches rodeo" is what they call that. I love my home town and we love to go back for the fair every year.. I loved your pictures especially the one with the kids and their winning turtle, that's my nephew.
ReplyDeleteIts the " little wrangler rodeo". It is not sanctioned in any way with little britches.
DeleteLittle Wranglers! I knew I had it wrong. I kept a journal and wrote about most of my travels, but somehow that didn't get written down. Thanks!
DeleteThis is great! Maybe next year you can go back and get pics of the 4-H kids and their projects, animals, sewing, art.........all representive of small town living and quality life.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have so many other fairs to travel to in order to make this book a reality and sadly, I probably won't be back to Sharon Springs anytime soon.
DeleteNice to see that it hasn't changed that much from when I was growing up
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't get any better than this!!! I grew up in this little town that I am proud to say is my HOME : )
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI wonder if they still have the train that runs out and around the fair, it was so peaceful to be there then, that was in the 80's, sure miss it. They got a lot of their rides from a carnival up in the mountains, where they had had a flood,and the town sold them to Sharon Springs
ReplyDeleteYes, the train ride is still a big hit. It's a wonderful weekend where you can visit old friends and all the kids young and old love to attend. My son said it's one of his best child hood memories to come to the fair in Sharon Springs and now my grandkids love it. Thanks for the great photos, seen some family members in them.
ReplyDeleteYou are a talented photographer, and I can't wait to purchase (many copies of) your book! And not only because many of my family members are in these images. :) The Wallace County Free Fair is truly a special event. Having lived in several other Western Kansas communities now, I can truly attest that there is nothing else like it.
ReplyDeleteI've shared the link to your blog with many people, and hopefully once the book is published, it will be a best-seller!
Holy cow, thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. I had a great time and met a ton of really friendly people at the Wallace Co. Fair. I've visited over 25 fairs now on this project and Wallace Co. is still my favorite!
DeleteI am trying to order a print, but it's not working. I can view the thumbnail larger, but then it says "Produce" and "Price" but has no drop-down menu or choices available to choose.
ReplyDeleteDang it. Really sorry about that. I've been having some trouble with my print purchasing site. It should be working now. Contact me if you have any other questions...
Deletebrian@briangoodmanphoto.com
Thank you! I was able to order a print! (The post above this one is mine as well; for some reason my Google log-in wasn't working. My name is Charity. The print I ordered is the merry-go-round, as that is my youngest child in the pink cowboy boots riding it!)
DeleteI'm not surprised this post has gone a little viral. Within minutes of someone sharing the link on Facebook last night, 30 of my friends, all with Wallace County roots but now far-flung around the country, had shared it on their FB feeds as well. I didn't see anyone copying and using individual photos, but I did see this link lots of times! One of my friends in Scotland told me that not only are your photos "quite lovely," but they reminded her "very much of Charlotte's Web." :)
Thank you for sharing your work with us. As you can see, Wallace County is a special place to be from ... none of us who grew up there ever really leave it behind in our hearts, so we are very excited to share your gorgeous photos of the fair with the world!
Charity, it makes me so completely happy to know that your little one is in that photo! That is what this whole thing is about...thank you.
DeleteMy husband grew up going to this fair and we make the annual pilgrimage from Kansas City out there every year. Summer isn't summer without fair! Lots of fun to see family members and friends in you're beautiful pictures! In an era of big cities getting bigger and small towns dying out, it's so refreshing to see a project that showcases the gems these small towns really are!
ReplyDeleteThanks LS.!
DeleteI'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to visit my blog post about the Wallace Co. Fair. I had no idea that this one post would reach so many people all across the world in just a matter of hours. So far in less than 24hrs, this post has been viewed by 1,228 people, in places as far away as Germany and the UK. I hope to finish this book project sometime next year, so please keep my blog bookmarked to keep up with the progress so that you can one day own your own copy.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to contact me if you'd like to purchase a print.(i've been known to throw in some extra goodies for nice print buyers!)
Thanks everyone!
I moved back to this area after 20 years in Houston and LOVE fair time. One of the reasons I decided to live in Weskan which is 12 miles west of Sharon and still in WallaceCounty is because of my visit during fair time. It is a GREAT place to raise kids that know how to work and care about the people that live around them.
ReplyDeleteWow, great pictures. Lived in Sharon Springs as a young boy between WWII and the Korean War until my dad was called back into the Air Force. Started grade school there. Lots of memories.
ReplyDeleteMike Hickman
These are so great! I just love how you make the colors pop.
ReplyDeleteSir you have captured our fair perfectly. Thank you for sharing your pictures and please come back for a fun fair visit.
ReplyDelete