It’s Fair time in Tennessee. Many counties in the vicinity of Nashville are holding their annual Fairs over the next several weeks. In Nashville, we host the Tennessee State Fair which is held the second week of September. However, “the” fair in our area is the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon. Last year Wilson County had attendance of over 500,000. The 2014 Fair opened two days ago and will end on Saturday, August 23.
On closing night, I will be participating in the “Taste of Wilson County Cooking Demonstrations”. Shelly Barnes is the FCS Agent with the University of Tennessee Extension Office in Wilson County and she invited me several months ago to participate. I met Shelly several years ago at the Fair and she has been a great resource for me in preparing to write my cookbook.
I want to personally invite you and also give you some details and other information.
The demo starts at 7pm and ends at 8 pm. It will be in the Adult Exhibits building D. When you enter the fairground you can obtain a map and program of daily events. My event is listed in the program as “Taste of Wilson County Cooking Demonstrations”
Saturday August 23 - WIlson County Fair
James E. Ward Agricultural Center
945 Baddour Parkway
Lebanon, TN
www.wilsoncountyfair.net
Admission to the fairgrounds is $7.00 for adults; $5.00 for children; children 2 and under are free.
You are welcome to use your favorite maps application for directions, but if you are traveling from Nashville and prefer a scenic route with minimal traffic (there is usually a LOT of traffic getting on and off Interstate 40 at the exit for the fairgrounds), I have these directions that are from my friend Keith Leedham who lives in Wilson County. I attended the Fair last night and used these directions:
From Nashville;
Take I-40 East toward Knoxville
Take exit Exit 232-a (TN-109 south)
TN-109 turns into Central Pike (TN-265 east) You will cross over TN-840 and the road will wind, twist and turn for several miles. Turn left on TN-231 North. It will cross I-40 and you will pass many businesses and restaurants. Turn right on Tennessee Blvd; then after one mile turn right on Baddour Parkway. You will see entrance to the fairground to the left.
If you are planning to attend, you might want to come earlier in the afternoon. I arrived about 4pm and while there was traffic backed up at the entry gate, there was a great amount of traffic trying to enter the fairgrounds when we departed around 8:30 pm.
I would love for you to attend if you can. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.