What do the following things have in common? Cows and cotton candy. Deep-fried candy bars and home-raised goats. Amusement rides and political pandering. Answer: The fair!

Yep, now that the Fourth of July holiday has come and gone and we settle into what some call the dog days of summer, and sultry nights beckon, it soon will be time for that corny-honored tradition of packing up the kids or picking up your date and heading to a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds near you.

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