With apologies to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, I once again borrow from the lyrics of the late musical geniuses. "Our County Fair is the Best County Fair. Don't miss it. Don't even be Late."

Early August means only one thing in West Friendship. The biggest event of the year, which celebrates West Friendship's rural roots and shines bright with the accomplishments of today's 4-H members, is ready to showcase all that is good about agriculture and farming.

It's the 63rd annual Howard County Fair, running Aug. 2-9 at the fairgrounds in West Friendship.

Fair hours are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Sunday, Aug. 3 marks the official grand opening with the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department Parade at 2 p.m. and Baltimore's Marching Ravens at 12:30 p.m.

The Miss Howard County Farm Bureau Contest and the popular 4-H mini fashion revue will be held Aug. 3 at 3 p.m.

There is something for everyone at the fair, from agricultural judging of beef and dairy cattle, sheep, swine, rabbits and poultry, to the home arts building stocked with canned goods, fine arts, baked confections, wood working and sewing projects

Live bands and entertainment, as well as a petting zoo, pony rides and the full assortment of midway carnival rides and attractions are on schedule daily and nightly. For any information on this year's fair, call 410-442-1022 or go to www.howardcountyfair.org.

Another Howard County Fair reminder. Local musicians, sponsored by The Howard County Antique Farm Machinery Club, will take to the stage during the last days of fair. Art Boone's Southwest Bluegrass will perform Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. and John Frank's Lone Mountain will take the stage Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. Both performances will be held on the stage which is located by the main entrance. Make sure to bring some lawn chairs and stop by for some good old fashioned music.

The Howard County Antique Farm Machinery Club will hold a wheat threshing and straw baling demonstration Aug. 3 at 4 p.m. at the club's display area just inside the main gate. The demonstrators will use a stationary threshing machine and baler.

Local 4-H kids have prepared for the Howard County Fair all year. Members of the West Friendship Livestock 4-H have worked on a multitude of projects in anticipation of the fair competition.

Erica Fields has completed hand dipped, beeswax and molded candles, marbled soaps, jars of jellies, a latch hook project and an artistic decoupaged box for inclusion in the fair competition.

The industrious local 4-H member also found time to bake up a storm with some flavorful cookie entries as well as decorated cakes. She also spent much of the summer working on summer math project packets, brushing up on Spanish and preparing for Glenelg High School's volleyball season with a lot of volleyball lessons. Fields has been one busy teen.

Her fellow members will enter fair divisions as varied as livestock to flowers. John Graybeal, Andrew Eisenhardt, Rebecca Eisenhardt, Anna Larimore, William Fiege, Eric Fiege, Jimmy Coffey, Sean Coffey and Robbie Leaf are all entering livestock in the swine division.

Graybeal will also show his wool sheep. Fields, Laura Gossage and Chris Buckley are entering their rabbits and Andrew Eisenhardt will show his guinea pig. Rebecca Eisenhardt is readying her Shetland sheep dog for show in the 4-H canine competition.

Anna Larimore, Maggie Woodbury and Fields also have prepared photos for the photography contest. Bicycle contest participants include Emma and Jeffrey Woodbury. Baked goods galore are on the entry list for 4-H'ers Anna Larimore, Maggie Woodbury, William Fiege, Jeffrey Woodbury, Laura Gossage, Rebecca Eisenhardt, Chris Buckley and Emma Woodbury.

These local 4-H members will assist at the 4-H barn and at the petting zoo. Club members urge the community to visit the baked goods sale on the afternoon of Aug. 3 and the livestock sale Aug. 8 at 6:15 p.m.

And, of course, give a great wave and a hip, hip, hooray as this club passes by during the parade of floats Aug. 9 at 5 p.m.

"Break a leg" to the 35 students from Glenelg Country School who are in Edinburgh, Scotland as qualifying participants in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Director Carole Lehan and composer Tom French who collaborated on an original musical, "Aesop's Foibles," which premiered at Glenelg Country School last spring, have taken the entire cast and crew to Scotland for the competition.

The musical will be performed during the first week of August in Scotland. The Fringe Festival includes more than 18,000 different performances of music, theatre, dance and comedy during its three week run.

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