Countryside Fair through the Years

2017

2018

2019

2020 - no fair - the entire fair was going to be outdoors (Covid era), and due to rain/cold, it was cancelled

2021

2022

2023

2024

Countryside Fair 2023

It was a very rainy night at the Countryside Fair, but the rain didn't hold back the crowds or fun!  

This is one of our favorite nights of the year!  

Titus was able to play the games this year!  He was a bit hesitant (or overwhelmed!), but he loved all the throwing games!  Throw the duckies, throw the bees, throw the balls!  

Emma had fun on a hayride with friends during a break in the rain!

Both Arturo's family and our neighbors came, which was a fun surprise!  We took a short break for some chili in the gym and enjoyed catching up with friends.   Titus and I sat in the bleachers for awhile while he ate ice cream, while Dave did more of the bigger games upstairs with the kids.  We also found a few treats to buy at the bake sale!

It was especially sweet to have Titus and Emma wear the same pterodactyl costumes that Josiah and Isaac wore in 2017, which was our first year at the Countryside Fair!

Emma's family presentation

Emma Victoria did her 5th grade "family history presentation” on her great-great-grandma Emma Victoria (Nelson) Swenson (1891-1950).  This was an end-of-quarter exam grade for her history that the 5th graders do each year as part of their history curriculum studying Ellis Island and immigration.  Emma's teacher, Mr. Ea, opened the time together by having everyone recite the pledge and sing the doxology.  We also did a reader's theater together about immigrants from all different countries coming to America.  Emma and Cannabry did one of the reader's theater lines together, changing the line from singular to plural, and their sweet voices in unison were precious!  This was a very special time together in Emma's class!  

Hi, I'm Emma Victoria, and if you're wondering, I have the same name as my great-great-grandma.  If I was still alive, I would be 132 years old.  I was born in 1891 in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, near Laura Ingalls Wilder.  My parents immigrated from Sweden to Minnesota because they liked the lakes and climate.  We lived on a farm.  I played piano and violin by ear with no lessons.  I was a maid helping with new babies, and that's where I met my husband, Swen Swenson.  My name was Emma Victoria Nelson before I was married.  Swen Swenson came from Sweden a year before The Titanic sunk.  I had four girls and one son.  I was an excellent baker and cook, and I earned my family money.   

And, I'm going to tell you a story about a green crayon and gravy.

The pastor was coming over for lunch one Sunday afternoon, and the kids were riled up, so I told them to sit down and color.  One kid threw a green crayon into the air, and it landed in the gravy.  The gravy was so hot that it turned green immediately.  We didn't have time to make more, so we served green gravy!

I made angel food cakes, and I sold it for $3 for a birthday cake and $7-10 for a wedding cake, and I will be passing out the recipe and a piece of cake later.  And that is the end of my presentation.