The Neshoba county fair

Since 1889, ladies and gentleman, young and old, have gathered together for the attractions of the Neshoba county fair in South Mississippi. Festivities last over one week. Brightly-painted and incredibly decorated wooden cabins that have been passed down through the years from one old Southern family to another line every nook and corner of the fairgrounds. In its early beginnings, attendees would hear political candidates speak while they sat on wooden benches under the pavilion or under the nearest shady oak. They fought the penetrating heat with forceful strokes of their paper fans. Others would sit under the comfort of their cabin porches while gingerly sipping on an ice cold glass of sweet tea. When lunch time came 'round, they would take turns providing a meal of southern staples - barbecue sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, watermelons, and fresh banana pudding for dessert. The men talked business and politics. The women spoke in quick, excited whispers about one another's hair and dress or laughed over the matches they prophesied between the young men and little ladies. The children giggled and played as all young children do. The horse and buggy races would begin in the late afternoon and all would gather to see the excitement for themselves.

The fair hasn't changed much, even after over 120 years. It still looks and feels almost the same way as it did in 1889. Men and women still come from all over to hear politicians, sit on their cabin porch, eat quintessential southern foods, fan away the July heat, watch the horse races, and visit with friends, old an new. The Neshoba county fair is like taking a glimpse at the Old South and having a small taste of simpler times.