Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Fair Thee Well

Summer, like all good things, must come to an end. But at least it goes out with a bang at the 10-day Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction. The state’s largest fair mixes cotton-candy fun with carny curiosities, from the massive Ferris wheel to giant pumpkins. Small-stage highlights include high-wire acrobatics by the Flying Wallendas and the cute — and impressively quick — McKenzie’s Racing Pigs. Let your road rage run vicariously wild at the car-crushing demolition derby or Figure Eight Race, or stick around for nightly concerts on the grandstand. This year’s big-name performers include Train, the J. Geils Band and Demi Lovato.