We all remember the infamous scene in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ when Judy Garland spoke one of the most famous lines of her longstanding career, when she clapped the heels of her ruby red sippers together, closed her eyes and said, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home...”

I find the same is true of the Chenango County Fair. No matter where you go for your thrills over the summer, nothing quite suits an appetite for fun like the county fair. Sure, there are the big amusement parks, but like Oz, they’re always prettier from a distance. Once you get inside, it’s a whole different story and never as pleasant. Oz itself draws more parallels to the amusement parks than most might recognize (the attraction of it from a far off view, fantasy creatures, “munchkins” running around; really, the only thing amusement parks have that Oz lacked are souvenir shops and a Dip-n-Dots Ice Cream stand). Yet, regardless of the appeal and all the glitz and glamor of the typical amusement parks, nothing beats the hometown fair.