The curse of rainy weather notwithstanding, fair-time is a cracking-good time of year in Fairbanks, one I’ve looked forward to eagerly every year since attending my first way back in 2005. Yeah, I’m a relative new-comer to Alaska, for those who didn’t know. But that first fair made a pretty big impression on me, especially coming from a place and culture so diametrically opposed to Alaska as South Florida. To be fair, there are certainly county- and state-fairs there as well, that is, annually-held carnivals which somehow pass for state fairs. The agricultural aspects of these, though still touted if you dig deep enough on their websites, seem to barely extend beyond petting-zoos and cartoon cows seen on billboard advertisements. Thus, not only did my first Tanana Valley Fair reinforce my certainty that the move to Alaska had been a proper one, it also consoled much personal skepticism that there is still great hope for our food future to be a bright, healthful, and local one.

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