newton county pun’kin vine fair provides classic and new adventures

If you could put the month of July on your tongue it would taste like elephant ears and pork burgers and swirl soft serve ice cream.

It smells like wood shavings and a smoky sweetness mixed in with fresh cut grass. It sounds like the community band playing John Phillip Sousa and the crow of a rooster and old friends laughing.

It’s kids with faces scrubbed clean of the grime from a year’s worth of work spent corralling and cajoling pigs and sheep. It’s photography and woodworking and cake decorating and ceramic projects marched in proudly to the 4-H building by youth of all ages, exhausted parents trailing behind. It’s outbidding the fair board president for a famous award winning rhubarb pie in the Domestic Arts Building. It’s a meandering midway, banked by tall somber oak trees and old friends that make a 10 minute walk stretch into a two hour long promenade. It’s watching carnival rides light up a star filled country sky.

 

The Newton County Fair is a classic. While there are many wonderful county fairs in Northwest Indiana, not many are able to provide modern attractions along with the vintage charm and friendly atmosphere of the Pun’kin Vine Fair.  Just to be clear, that is not a typo, it’s not “Pumpkin”, it’s “Pun’kin.” The local slang and nickname for the fair is due to the original fair date in September, when pumpkin vines were growing over the entrance to the fair.

And you can find pumpkin vines and pumpkins themselves intertwined throughout the fairgrounds. They’re in the hanging baskets along the midway, sketches and drawings decorate some of the buildings, and there is also an entire category in the Domestic Arts confections and baked goods competition devoted to pumpkin inspired recipes. My personal favorite is pumpkin cake, and also pumpkin cookies, and well the pie is really good too…ya know what you’re just going to have to view some of the concoctions for yourself they’re just too good for me to choose one.

The big attraction is always the concert and if you’re interested in some good music, food and a country sky then get your tickets for Cole Swindell at 8 pm Tuesday in the grandstand. He’s going to be putting on a great show. It’s best to arrive before 6 pm and get your fill on fair food. The North Newton FFA stand features great burgers, hotdogs, fries…everything, and is right next to the grandstand. The Lions Club soft serve ice cream before or after the show is also a must. Don’t wait too long though, or you will have to stand in a line 30 people deep.

I love the concert but the truck pull on Wednesday and the tractor pull on Thursday (both starting at 7:30 pm) are the two favorites for my husband, and usually serve as our fair date nights. Honestly I hardly ever attended the truck and tractor pulls until we started dating, but I love them now. There’s so much energy in the air when a big truck revs its engine and the crowd cheers. You hear the squeal of the tires as it takes off trying to get as far as possible before the weight pulls it back. It’s great to see how locals will fair against out-of-towners and the excitement from the audience is contagious.

Jr. Leaders at the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair explain exhibits to Head Start kids
Jr. Leaders at the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair explain exhibits to Head Start kids

Wednesday is always a juggling act because it’s also Earth Night in the sheep arena for me. I’ll be there encouraging youth and adults alike to reduce, reuse, recycle! Games, crafts, Sno Cones, popcorn and a Silly Safari animal show will all be featured and everything at Earth Night is absolutely free. When there’s a break in the crowd I dash down to Miss Piggy’s for a pork burger and maybe some nachos.

The 4-H Council Pork Chop Supper and Community Band concert on Friday night CANNOT be missed. If you do not get one of these delicious chops then I have serious doubts about your sanity. I recommend walking off the pork chop supper by strolling through the 4-H and Domestic Arts Buildings. Friday night is a double bonus because a new event, quad and bike drag races, will be featured at the Grandstand at 7:30 pm.

The queen pageant is a staple on Monday night with young women in evening and business attire gracing the Grandstand stage. The pageant has a cult following with local family and friends decorating t-shirts and making up cheers for the girls they are supporting. I’ll be there but you won’t see me in the grandstand. As former fair queen royalty, I’m recruited to help out behind the scenes, lacing up dresses, applying lipstick and providing those few last words of support.

As former fair queen royalty, I’m very sentimental about the Pun’kin Vine Fair
As former fair queen royalty, I’m very sentimental about the Pun’kin Vine Fair

The Newton County Fair captivates old and new visitors alike. Many county fairs have simply gotten so large that some of the charm and nostalgia of classic fair attractions has been lost and so the Pun’kin Vine Fair with it’s tall oak trees and winding midway next to the Iroquois River is like something out of a storybook.

I’m truly sentimental about the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair , my life would have been completely different without it. As a 10 year 4-H member, the fair was the pinnacle of my summers. It was because of the fair that I met my husband. My title as Miss Newton County Fair Queen provided an excellent excuse for him to drive me in his Corvette for a parade, which also served as our first date. Six years after that first date, we had our wedding reception at the most fitting location, under the oak trees at the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair.

Josh and I love the fair and the fairgrounds are truly beautiful, it was the perfect place for our wedding reception
Josh and I love the fair and the fairgrounds are truly beautiful, it was the perfect place for our wedding reception

 

See you on the midway!

3 thoughts on “newton county pun’kin vine fair provides classic and new adventures”

  1. You’ve written a wonderful piece on the charm and appeal of the Newton County Pun’kin Vine Fair. One aspect of the fair that is missing is the Church Night at the Fair. This has been a tradition at the fair for as long as I can remember, and is enjoyed by many people. I understand that they had a fair sized crowd for it last night, and it was a Christian Rock band that appealed to many of all ages.

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