Year S Fair

Erna Henson, a state government employee worried about possible cutbacks, decided to get an early start on a search for new opportunities by attending the third annual Anne Arundel County Job Fair.But opportunities were few to be found, she said yesterday.Even locating a part-time job can be difficult, Henson said. "They just take your application and say, 'We'll get back to you.' "Fewer employers attended this year's fair that did last year -- "a direct result of the recession," according to Robert Schweriner, assistant director of career planning and development for Anne Arundel Community College.

Organizers expect attendance for this year's Maryland State Fair to be higher than the turnout last year, when rain fell during the normally busy Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend 2007 was different, with temperatures in the 80s and sunshine galore. That meant big crowds at the Timonium fairgrounds and lots of business for vendors. Early estimates put total fair attendance this year at about 410,000, compared with 344,000 last year. "We have had two fabulous days in a row," said Max Mosner, president and general manager of the Maryland State Fair and Agricultural Society Inc., the nonprofit that runs the annual event.

Local fairs aren't what they used to be. Herb-infused olive oils have edged out canned beans, bathroom attendants hand out towels for tips, snack bars have air conditioning, and alpacas - not cows - are the new must-have animals. Of course, the good old stuff is there, too: apple pies, herds of livestock, crop displays, petting zoos and crafts. But more and more, fairs are obliged to move over and make room for new trends. "Fairs have to change with the times. They have to be progressive and stay on top of things," said Andy Cashman, vice president of the Maryland Association of Agricultural Fairs and Shows Inc. "If they just sit and watch the world go by, they're going to die."

From pig racing and cow birthing to Jeopardy! and Raven Symone, the Maryland State Fair is ringing in its 125th anniversary with a blend of quirky and traditional events. Running tomorrow through Sept. 4, the fair will include rides, concerts, food, animals, home arts, tours and so many exhibits, competitions, shows and activities that there's never a dull moment in the fair's 11 days. Tonight offers a sneak-peek opportunity to enjoy the fair's rides, games and food before tomorrow's official opening.

The 50th Annual Howard County Fair Book was the best thing to come in the mail recently. The book details everything about the fair, which begins Aug. 12.This year's Howard County Fair is an important milestone in our community, according to fair President Rob Moxley. Members of the Howard County Fair Board invite you to participate in this year's fair as an exhibitor, a volunteer or a visitor.Call 442-1022 to reach the Howard County Fair Board or 313-2707 for more information about 4-H.*Heather Rynarzewski, a 16-year-old member of the Daisy Agriculture 4-H Club, will represent Howard County on the State 4-H Teen Council, where she will help coordinate statewide involvement of teen-agers in 4-H programs.

A visit to the State Fair has paid dividends for 170 people who learned about $41,343 apparently owed to them by banks and other businesses, Maryland Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein said yesterday.Goldstein said his office's computerized booth had fielded 2,729 inquiries about "unclaimed funds" during the fair's first two days. The comptroller's office is charged with keeping records about bank accounts, security deposits, insurance benefits and other payments that have gone uncollected for more than five years.

25 years ago (week of August 29-Sept. 4, 1971):A survey made by delegates Hugh Burgess and J. Hugh Nichols showed that a majority of registered voters in Howard County were in favor of: election of County Council members by district, rather than at large; an elected, rather than appointed, school board, and a constitutional amendment that would allow a state lottery. The survey respondents were opposed to: removal of the ceiling on the local piggyback tax and state takeover of elementary and secondary schools.

The opening prayer breakfast of the seventh annual Harford County Farm Fair was served Thursday morning with big helpings of torrential rain, muddy fairgrounds and a gloomy four-day weather forecast.But the sloppy conditions at Bel Air's Harford County Equestrian Center didn't seem to dampen the competitive spirit of the 4-H'ers and Future Farmers of America whose projects were showcased at the event that honors the county's agricultural heritage.By noon Thursday, wood chips and gravel had been spread around the grounds to provide a bit of firm footing for the youngsters as they made their way to various events and prepared their sheep, cows and goats for competition.

The high-jumping mules, racing pigs and hefty draft horses return to Maryland's largest free fair tomorrow. The weeklong event features spirited auctions of livestock and edible art, and whimsical contests testing skills such as pie-eating, watermelon-seed-spitting and milk-mustache-making. Also, a petting zoo, a welding competition and a roving robot make their debuts this year. But the highlight of the 107th Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair in Westminster is the new agriculture arena, a $5.5 million building with a show ring and enough room to show 1,000 animals to several hundred spectators.

As the Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair opens for its second century tomorrow, organizers are determined to maintain the country flavor that has shaped the event through the years."

After a two-year hiatus, the Mid-Atlantic Radical Book Fair returns this weekend, thanks to the efforts of the Red Emma's collective and activists from around the region. The four-day festivities start tonight with a spoken-word performance by Jello Biafra (formerly of the Dead Kennedys) at Sonar and continue tomorrow with three days of free workshops and discussions at Center Stage and the Contemporary Museum. This year's fair will have a wider range of radical and independent publishers, booksellers and small-budget presses, said Kate Khatib, a member of the organizational committee.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - This year at the Three County Fair, one commercial apple grower came away with a slew of blue ribbons because his Northern Spies, Macoun and Cortlands had no competition. Grannie's Racing Pigs, a traveling novelty show, drew dozens of spectators while the home-grown livestock contests played to a few farm families and friends. Scores of fairgoers only used the Farm Museum, where artifacts such as a sauerkraut masher, lard press and antique tractor were displayed, as a route to the Ferris wheel and other midway attractions.

The high-jumping mules, racing pigs and hefty draft horses return to Maryland's largest free fair tomorrow. The weeklong event features spirited auctions of livestock and edible art, and whimsical contests testing skills such as pie-eating, watermelon-seed-spitting and milk-mustache-making. Also, a petting zoo, a welding competition and a roving robot make their debuts this year. But the highlight of the 107th Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair in Westminster is the new agriculture arena, a $5.5 million building with a show ring and enough room to show 1,000 animals to several hundred spectators.

The high-jumping mules, racing pigs and hefty draft horses return to Maryland's largest free fair tomorrow. The weeklong event features spirited auctions of livestock and edible art, and whimsical contests testing skills such as pie-eating, watermelon-seed-spitting and milk-mustache-making. Also, a petting zoo, a welding competition and a roving robot make their debuts this year. But the highlight of the 107th annual Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair in Westminster is the new agriculture arena, a $5.5 million building with a show ring and enough room to show 1,000 animals to several hundred spectators.

FAIR HILL - David O'Connor, a gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, rode Custom Made back into the lead in the U.S. Equestrian Team Fall Eventing Championship at the Fair Hill International yesterday. Meanwhile, Fred Merriam, the individual bronze medalist at the 2002 World Singles Driving Championship, drove a clean cones course to maintain his lead in the USA National Single Horse Driving Championship. O'Connor has announced that this year's Fair Hill International is the final competition for Custom Made, a 17-year-old thoroughbred owned by Xandarius LLC. Custom Made finished yesterday's cross country with a two-phase total of 44.61 penalties.

Local fairs aren't what they used to be. Herb-infused olive oils have edged out canned beans, bathroom attendants hand out towels for tips, snack bars have air conditioning, and alpacas - not cows - are the new must-have animals. Of course, the good old stuff is there, too: apple pies, herds of livestock, crop displays, petting zoos and crafts. But more and more, fairs are obliged to move over and make room for new trends. "Fairs have to change with the times. They have to be progressive and stay on top of things," said Andy Cashman, vice president of the Maryland Association of Agricultural Fairs and Shows Inc. "If they just sit and watch the world go by, they're going to die."

After a two-year hiatus, the Mid-Atlantic Radical Book Fair returns this weekend, thanks to the efforts of the Red Emma's collective and activists from around the region. The four-day festivities start tonight with a spoken-word performance by Jello Biafra (formerly of the Dead Kennedys) at Sonar and continue tomorrow with three days of free workshops and discussions at Center Stage and the Contemporary Museum. This year's fair will have a wider range of radical and independent publishers, booksellers and small-budget presses, said Kate Khatib, a member of the organizational committee.

Getting whipped in a steel cage between two giant pulleys, flung end-over-end until all sense of gravity is lost -- yes, that might be the worst way to spend a perfectly brilliant, late-summer's day.Or, if you're a teen-ager, the best."

Jonathan Cohen's company may have been chosen because it's atypical, but it shares several traits with the other 50 companies selected to participate in the Capital Connection 2002 venture fair. Rockville-based 20/20 Gene Systems Inc. has a product on the market and has already received $1.5 million from individual angel investors, said Cohen, its founder and president. The 2-year-old biotech company is looking for its first round of venture capital funding, and Cohen hopes to raise between $3 million and $5 million to ready his product, which takes snapshots of the characteristics of diseased tissues for clinical use. "We think the fact that we have revenues ... has made us attractive," Cohen said.

HAVE YOU EVER wondered how well people wash their hands? Can hamsters learn? Is it possible for bubbles to propel rockets through the air? These and other intriguing questions were put to the test by Mount Airy Elementary pupils during the school's science fair Feb. 9. In its fifth year, the science fair strives to maintain the original goal of previous chairwoman and event creator, Debbie McKenzie. She set out to design a fair that would bring science to a level that children can understand.