Inside Outside Michiana: David Rogers Country Fair

This last weekend we checked out David Rogers Country Fair in LaGrange. As we drove out there, it really seemed like we were out in the middle of nowhere, which kind of added to the rustic feel of the festival.

There were numerous organic farms along the way. I wonder if these would be good farmer's markets to visit with so many "Do Not Spray" signs. We live in the north part of Elkhart County and it didn't take us as long to get out there as I thought. It would make a great half-day or day trip to visit other places in the area. Plus, Shipshewana was on our way home. We usually like to stop at E&S, the Cheese Factory, or Rise N'Roll, though there are many quaint stores and good family activities. Here is a post I did on our visit to the Cheese Factory.

The cost was $2/person or $10 for a family. We're getting big enough as a family that the family rate is nice! Paying was self serve. There were many older buildings set up with demonstrations inside. On the website for the Country Fair, they have the building signs available. I really appreciate this as I'm not always at liberty to spend time reading all the signs (or need more time to digest the information) when I'm juggling 4 boys. I often will take a picture on my phone and try to see it later, so this was perfect. They share many early settler processes.

This wood carver (beautiful bowls!), spent time sharing a trick with my son. He really got into the one-on-one process of teaching/sharing a skill to future generations (meaning--didn't let mom interfere!).

I think my son could have thrown black walnuts (still green) up in the air all day!

We got to help make cookies.

These people had a whole kitchen set up. We were able to look at how this kitchen worked and talk about the differences with our kitchen. Compare and contrast, make connections, etc.--we're doing it! The gentleman was peeling apples from the trees in the area. We'd just recently gone apple picking and made applesauce, so it was neat to see that we can treat natural resources in similar ways. Then and now we have a need to nourish our bodies and we've worked out similar ways of food preparation and preservation. Many of these skills have been passed down through the ages.

There were good old fashioned games to play, like the sack race, watermelon seed spitting contest, . . .

Stilts and bobbing for apples. My oldest was so persistent in bobbing for apples--I loved seeing this trait come out. He didn't give up and eventually had his prize! He wanted to go back for more! The boys had never played this game, so it was neat to see them experience this classic part of fall. I think we sometimes move far away from these basic, but great activities.

Checkers and log cabin building.

There was even music! There were a couple of stages with presentations and talks about period activities and daily living. We were just there for a couple of hours because of time constraints, though could have stayed for much longer.

There were several areas set up around the park that had a person with his/her tools, craft, etc. Here we could see an officer's needed equipment and the many knives and swords that were around. Other places we met local artisans who made wooden spoons--gorgeous! We had a great conversation about finding the right piece of wood for projects. Others were selling fruits and vegetables, had games, were weaving, or cooking. There were several options of things to look at, see, and do. My children particularly liked the games. I heard there would be more music and dancing in the evening, as several activities were scheduled throughout the day. There was also a country store. While there were many great sponsors for the event, James Townsend and Son, Inc. sponsored the store. They make quality replica items and are known across the United States for their work. Needless to say, there were some neat items for sale in the store.