Jared Lang

Fair time is always a special time

Jared Lang | Highlands Today
Published: February 13, 2013

I love spending holidays with my family and attending different community events with my friends, but fair week has always been my favorite time of year around Sebring. That's why I got so excited last week when the trucks started to pull in and the rides began to go up.

The Highlands County Fair is my favorite place to spend time with friends and is home to some of my most cherished memories.

Sure, I usually gain a few pounds by the end of the week, but I'm always sad to see the trucks pack up and leave.

The fair is a place that can entertain any age between the rides, games, contests and shows.

As a young child, all I ever wanted to do was ride rides and play games. I waited all week for the night my parents said they would buy me a ride band and would then proceed to enjoy the thrills all night long.

Lines didn't matter to me because I was like a kid in a candy store. Upon exiting one ride I was already walking to whichever one caught my eye next.

Now that I'm a little older, the fair attracts me for other reasons. The Miss Highlands County pageant draws a big crowd every year, and I love seeing my friends participate. I was even lucky enough to be friends with this year's winner, Ashley Townsend.

Many of my friends also raise livestock for the fair and it's always great to see their hard work pay off.

One of my favorite parts of the fair is the hypnotist show. There's nothing funnier than watching people you know get on stage and make fools of themselves.

One hilarious and famous story in the Lang family household occurred at the hypnotist show a few years ago. My mom and sister innocently volunteered to be hypnotized, and my dad and I were delighted to discover that the hypnotist not only succeeded in hypnotizing them, but made them the stars of the show.

They spent the next 45 minutes lip-syncing to popular songs, competing in a shake-your-booty contest, and falling to the floor every time the hypnotist snapped his fingers.

My dad bought a DVD of their performance after the show and my mom and sister have yet to live down that legendary night.

The past couple of years have given me even more reason to enjoy the fair because I have played baseball at Sebring High School. As a member of the SHS baseball team, I have to help park cars during fair week.

This may seem like a chore but it's actually great to spend time with my teammates. Plus it's just another excuse to go hang out at the fair.

Already this year I've had a memorable experience at the Highlands County Fair. One of my friends spent a few dollars at a carnival game in which the player wins a prize if he makes a basketball shot (on a noticeably small hoop). My friend made one of his shots and won a stuffed monkey.

After this small victory, we found some other friends of ours that play basketball and told them that we would pay if they would shoot for us. One shot wins a stuffed animal and two shots win an expensive NBA jersey. Ten dollars and two baskets later, we walked away with an $80 Kevin Durant jersey. After claiming our prize, the carnival worker promised us he would never let us play again.

I don't think they are supposed to give away jerseys.