Growing up in Minot, there was almost nothing better than going to the North Dakota State Fair.

Even when I got older, I was fired up about the fair. One year when I was a sports writer at the Minot Daily, I lobbied to do columns each day from the fair for the news section to give readers an inside look at the action.

One day I did nothing but go on rides, the next I tried about every fair delicacy I could fit down my throat. After that I spent a whole day going through the exhibit halls and even spent a day hanging out with carnies.

I had the time of my life.

But I think having the state fair in my own back yard spoiled me a little bit.

Not once have I ever attended a county fair.

So I am prepared to leap into county fair life with both feet this weekend.

By Wednesday evening I’ll have my world famous no-knead bread submitted into the open class with high hopes on taking home a blue ribbon.

Actually I didn’t come up with the recipe. My friend gave it to me and he didn’t actually come up with it either, but I can vouch for the fact that it’s outstanding.

It uses a tiny amount of yeast (1/4 teaspoon per loaf), but you let it sit and do its work for between 12 and 16 hours. Then you heat up a dutch oven or cast iron pot in the oven for about a half hour before throwing the bread in to bake, covered for a half hour and uncovered for 15-30 minutes until it’s nice and brown. With all that baking advice, I’m starting to wonder if this is a Chuck Repnow column.

Bright and early on Thursday, I’ll be participating in the fair’s walk/run 5K (probably in the walk portion mostly) and I may have even been persuaded to try my hand at the karaoke contest.

And that’s just the beginning. There is four nights of musical acts and all of the other good stuff that goes along with fair.

Thursday will be the parade. There are a few perks to living downtown (noisy bar patrons and wannabe hot rod drivers aren’t included) and one of them is that I’ll have the parade coming right by my apartment and my place of business.

I’m also excited to the the exhibits and a lot of the 4-H stuff. I didn’t grow up in a farm family, but I’m always really excited to see what people show, especially the kids and their projects and animals.

After being in the “Les Miserables” production with Matthew Pretzer, he was talking pretty proudly about his two ducks, Blackfoot and Lightning, that he’ll be entering in the 4-H exhibits, which are shown at the beginning of the fair.

And on top of all that, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a ginormous corn dog in my future this weekend as well.

And even with all of the action, I’m hoping to get some more weeding done in the garden.

The produce is coming up, and the weeds are moving just as fast.

But if the weeding has to wait until Sunday, that will just mean I’m having too much fun at the fair.