What to do this weekend in DC

It is fair season.  The Howard County Fair is a great traditional county fair.  Food, rides and livestock.

Admission is $5.

Yet another fair.  I love carnival food so I always post about fairs.  Cotton Candy, Candied Apples, Elephant Ears and the most delicious of them all “The Corn Dog”.  Friday includes honey bee demonstrations and pig races.  Saturday includes honey bee demonstrations and a 4H bake sale.  Sunday includes the honey bee demonstration and a 4H cake auction. If you don’t get a chance to go this weekend the fair is running through the 22nd.

Location – 16 Chestnut St, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

It is a weekend of fairs.  Friday is Half-Price day.  Sunday includes the Hershey Cocoa Classic.  1.) One entry per person 2.) Entry must be a baked dessert made from “scratch” in a non-returnable baking dish/tray. 3.) A minimum of 1/4 cup of cocoa must be used. 4.) Dessert entry must be submitted on cardboard for judging (no doily required). 5.) Two copies of recipe(s) listing the ingredients, preparation instructions, and recipe author must be submitted with the entry, printed on one side of the page.  It is open to everyone.  Entries need to be submitted between 1:30 and 2:30 pm on Sunday.

Location – 10624 Dumfries Road, Manassas, VA 20112

Hours of Operation – Gates open at 3pm on Friday and noon on Saturday and Sunday

Tickets are $5 and rides and food are extra.

Every Sunday this summer from noon to six, you can relax poolside with refreshing beverages and a perfectly grilled Spike burger.  There will be a live DJ spinning the newest beats poolside.  Make sure to stay till dusk as that is when Spike’d Cinema starts.  They will be showing one comedy each week poolside.

Cover charge: $15, which includes a juicy, freshly grilled burger with all the toppings (cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions, etc.) plus chips and a pickle.

Food/Drink specials: Besides those Spike burgers, there’s grilled chicken and other sandwiches. Drink specials include $5 cocktails like Spike’d Lemonade (vodka, pomegranate juice, fresh lemonade) and $4 Miller Lites.

The Anne Arundel County Fairground is strategically place to serve as host to the large concentration of Caribbean residents of the Washington D.C. Metro Area. The Fairground Capacity is over ten thousand people and is frequently utilized by Caribbean nationals from Baltimore, Washington D.C., Virginia, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Caribbean Entertainment Network will be staging the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival
On August 15, 2010 at the Anne Arundel Fairground. We intend to Display for the first time the wide variety of wines from the Caribbean. These wines are brewed and manufactured in Caribbean and are worthy to be highlighted. The palate of our Patrons will be magnetically glued to our world renowned Caribbean cuisine. Musical entertainment will be provided by the local bands within the United States of America.
The vendors will display their national colors and our innate cultural hospitality.

The many years of experience we posses in producing festivals successfully are predicated on the following: Advance strategic planning, penetrating marketing strategies, Community business inclusion, therapeutic and family friendly entertainment, Superior Patron service and excellent crowd control.

To enter, contestants must be amateur bakers. All applications include a $5 fee  that will benefit Manna Food Bank. For an application, go to www.bethesdafarmmarket.com and enter before August 31, 2010. A separate entry form is required for each pie entered; bakers may submit up to two pies. Entries may be e-mailed to moserdebra@aol.com or turned in at the information tent at the Sunday market. For complete details and contest rules, click on www.bethesdacentralfarmmarket.com

The contest will be judged on Sunday, September 5 at 11 a.m. at the market by some of Washington’s top food professionals: Bonnie Benwick, Assistant Food Editor, Washington Post; Carole Sugarman, Food Editor, Bethesda Magazine; Nancy Hickman, Manager, Buzz Bakery Arlington, and Deann O’Brien, Gazette Newspapers. Prizes will be awarded for both fruit and savory pies. First place is $100 gift certificate, second place wins $50 gift certificate and third place is a $25 gift certificate. All prizes can be redeemed at participating local restaurants, shops and at the Bethesda Central Farm Market.

Bethesda Central Farm Market, located at the Elm Street parking lot between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues on Sundays from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and at Bethesda Row on Thursday afternoons from 3-7 p.m.