Carmen Long
Simply Delicious
It is fair time! Growing up, the county fair was something we looked forward to each year. From the entertainment and animals to the exhibit building filled with home-canned products, giant vegetables, beautiful flowers, handmade quilts, paintings, and photography—fairs truly have something for everyone. They continue to highlight agriculture in the community and provide a stage to showcase livestock, produce, and handmade treasures.
My mom has fond memories of the county fair. She often tells stories about spending the week at the fair with her calves and pigs when she was a youth in 4-H. The pigs were auctioned at the end of the fair, and she was able to keep the money from the sale to buy her school clothes each year. To this day, we still enjoy her prize-winning apple crisp recipe, the one that won her a ribbon in the baking competition so many years ago.
The horse shows and children’s events were my husband’s favorites when he was young. When our children were little, they spent weeks gathering items to enter in the fair. One of their favorite categories at the Alleghany County Fair was mud pies, which continues to be a category for youth. They would fill aluminum pie plates with mud and decorate them with leaves, rocks, sticks, and sometimes even a toy horse or two. It was always exciting for them to visit the fair to see which of their entries had won ribbons, and the prize money made the winning even more thrilling.
To enjoy the 78th annual Surry County Agricultural Fair, mark your calendar for September 16–20, 2025. Entries will be accepted September 8–12. This year’s fair will feature exhibits, rides, family games, the Magic of Shaun Jay, AIWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, cotton candy, funnel cakes, and more.
The Alleghany County Fair will be held September 18–21, 2025, with entries accepted September 16–17. The 2024 fair unfortunately fell during Hurricane Helene, so organizers are hopeful for calmer weather this year. Visitors can look forward to rides, exhibits, livestock shows, musical entertainment, a truck and tractor pull, and more. For details, contact the Alleghany Center of NC Cooperative Extension at 336-372-5597.
And because no fair would be complete without delicious food, here are two blue-ribbon recipes perfect for fall.
Mom’s Apple Crisp
INGREDIENTS
- 6 apples
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
- Wash, peel, core, and slice the apples into thin slices.
- Place in a greased 9-inch square baking pan.
- Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar, then mix in the flour.
- Spread over the apples and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Zucchini Chocolate Loaf
By Beth Trgovic
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- Pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
DIRECTIONS
- Mix eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla.
- Stir in zucchini.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Add to zucchini mixture and stir until blended.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour into a greased 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
