As the county fair season in the Baltimore area comes to an end, we take a look at some of the best photos from three popular local fairs — the Howard County Fair, the Harford County Farm Fair and the Carroll County 4H and FFA Fair.
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Baltimore Sun Media Group multimedia journalist Jen Rynda spent 24 hours with a 4-H family during the first day of the Howard County Fair, which is celebrating its 70th year this week. Rynda followed the King family, of Woodbine — Teresa and her daughters Rachel, 16, and Nicole, 15. The King family sleeps in a camper at the fair in order to take care of their animals late at night and early in the morning. They participate in several contests as well, including the Miss Howard County Farm Bureau pageant. Flip through the photos for an detailed account of the family’s day, and check out the video below.
The Howard County Fair upped its game this year, moving from the ‘Bull Blast’ to a full on rodeo. Participants competed in several competitions, including bareback bronco riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle riding and bull riding. Spectators were treated to seemingly off-the-cuff performances from the rodeo clown. (Photos by Jon Sham / Video by Jen Rynda)
The Howard County Fair is returning for its 70th year next week, and the Howard County Times wanted to give readers a look into how crews get the fairgrounds ready for the event. Photographer Jen Rynda spent six hours over two days as workers meticulously set up the rides. More from her below the time lapse.
The 2014 Howard County Fair was enjoyed by many at the fairgrounds in West Friendship. The fair featured animals, rides, food, monster trucks and more.
It doesn’t draw crowds like the Bull Blast or Monster Truck Madness, but the Howard County Fair’s Miniature Horse Show, held on Wednesday, Aug. 6, is quite unique.
There are competitions for adults and youths (the humans, not the horses), that include various types of showmanship, jumping small hurdles and maneuvering an obstacle course.
“There’s no injured reserve for bull riders,” said Chip Ridgely, the owner of Rockin’ R Western Productions, which put on the Bull Blast at the Howard County Fair Monday night, and will again on Thursday.
We took look into the life of rodeo cowboys, who travel around the country in groups for weeks on end to entertain crowds at fairs and other events. Most people are aware of how dangerous the sport can be, but few may realize what bull riders go through from day to day.
After 16 years, attendees of the Howard County Fair finally got to see some bucking bulls.
With a new event called “Bull Blast” held Monday night, the fair launched itself back into the ring with professional riders putting on a show for about 2,000 cheering fans.
“We’re going to see some spills, some falls, maybe a couple cowboys getting bucked off real good,” said Justin Howard, of Rockin “R” Western Productions, which produced the show. “We’re going to have some fun.” (Story continues below video)
Patuxent photographer Sarah Pastrana spent some time at the Howard County Fair last week, looking for its more interesting characters. With the help of photographer Jen Rynda on the editing side, they produced six video vignettes in which the photos literally come to life. Click here to see them all.
The 67th annual Howard County Fair began on Saturday, Aug. 4, at the county fairgrounds in West Friendship, and Patuxent Publishing photographer Brian Krista has been there every day. He’s captured the animals, the people and the competitions held at the fair each year. Check out more of the Howard County Times’ coverage of the fair here.
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