One of the activities that I love most about summer is my annual visit to the County Fair! This has been a looong time tradition. It is a tradition that includes carnival games, rides, a flower show, horse races, livestock viewing, contests, vendors, and food – sooo much food.
Fairs everywhere are known for their food. Walking across the midway you can smell kettle corn, cotton candy, fried chicken, tacos, pasta, BBQ, funnel cakes, award winning pie – soooo many choices that you simply cannot try it all!
A County Fair Picnic Party
To celebrate all the fun and food of our local county fair, I decided to host a County Fair Picnic Party. My visit to our local county fair is a whole month away, and I simply did not want to wait. This party celebrates the fun, food, and the down home goodness that fairs everywhere honor.
And it is a easy party to put together! What I really love about this party is that everything is done ahead of time! Set it up, lay out the food, and enjoy your very own County Fair Picnic Party!
Not only does this party feature a yummy (make-ahead) party menu, it also includes carnival games. Simple games for the kids and adults (Yes, adults enjoy a good ring toss) to play and enjoy. Making this County Fair Picnic Party perfect for birthdays and family reunions.
Of course all of my parties start with an Evite® I thought the Sunshine and Sweet Lemonade was a perfect complement for my backyard homage to the County Fair. 
As I said, the menu is completely make-ahead! And everything can be laid out at once. The Salads in a Jar are kept on ice and are a healthy option. I made a Cobb Salad version as a complement to the other flavors.
And in true fair fashion you need to have your own favorite award winning pies for dessert! I loved the mini pies that I picked up at the store. We had cherry, apple, blueberry, and peach! Soooo many choices. I thought about getting a snow cone machine. But decided against it. If I already had one – believe me, I would have pulled it out. 
Easy-peasy party menu! And so easy for guest to pick up a red basket or plate to help themselves.
Of course no County Fair Picnic Party is complete without some carnival games! I choose three games, but depending on the size of your gathering – it is so easy to add a few more. The wonderful thing about the party games is that everyone was having fun playing with them! Everyone from little tykes to big kids (ahem grown-ups) gave them a shot. Go ahead and award prizes or keep it simple – want a soda? Get the ring around it! That’s how we played 🙂
For the fishbowl toss, I pulled out a bunch of glass bowls that I have, I bought some toy plastic fish (I cut some holes in the bottom so they would sink instead of float), and added a bucket of ping pong balls. The winners got their very own fish to take home! Plastic cups would work equally well. My bowls originally came from the dollar store.
The Knock ’em Down was plastic cups from the dollar store and bean bags from my classroom. The plastic cups were super easy to knock over. To make it more challenging I would recommend empty cans. We just had people move farther away from from the table. Of course, the little ones got to stand closer. With the cups, the kids started building themselves different sized pyramids to knock over. Lots of fun with the bean bag toss!
Our third game, The one that had the kids wanting to win a soda was the ring toss! A few plastic bracelets from the dollar store and favorite sodas was all this game took to set up! This was the easiest game to set up ever!
The games were a fast and easy set up! I was able to set them up early in the day, so I would not need to worry about it when I was getting the food set up. All it took was three card tables, a few things from home, and a trip to the dollar store.
This is one of my favorite parties! I loved the menu, the way everything was ready ahead of time, and the games added a new and fun dimension. This was one of those parties that I was sad to see end. In fact, I will be adding this to my annual line up of summer gatherings just like my annual Ladies Pool Party.
And it all started with an Evite® ! For even more outdoor fun parties check out this great selection of Evites. So many fun ideas for summer gatherings. I loved my Sunshine and Lemonade Evite!
Don’t you just love County Fairs? I do!
This post is in collaboration with Evite.com and their Evite Influencer Program. While I am compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. #BeThere #Evite #AD
And here is the link for your printable menu! County Fair Picnic Party Menu
What is one of your favorite summer party ideas?
We want a slice of pie, great party!
What a fun party this is! I love the idea of it and I love that everything is so bright and festive!
Honestly, I cannot wait to do this one again next summer!
What a fun summer party! I have very fond memories of visiting our county fair in the small Arizona mining town where I grew up. It’s something I love taking my children to when we are there visiting in the fall.
It’s a total tradition in our home! And has been for generations 🙂
Okay, I’m LOVING this theme for a summer party! (And also very much wanting some of that fried chicken right now. ;))
Thanks! It was scrumptious!
I’ve been to a state fair, but never a county one! Looks so much fun though, can’t wait to go!
I think all fairs are fun! Some are just larger and set up longer than others.
How fun is that! I never would have thought of this before. This is a super fun idea! Love the pics!
Thanks, Amber! We had a great time!
I love this idea! What a fun idea for a party. The decorations are so super cute too, what a really fun and playful idea!
Thank you! We really enjoyed ourselves.
I love this theme! It is so refreshing and fun with such a great feel! We are having aBBQ in a few weeks and I think I will use a few of your ideas!
Thanks! Yes, the games were a fast and easy set up and entertained everyone!
This is such a good idea! I never thought about doing a party like this! I would love it and it could be a lot of fun for the kids!
Thank you! The kids and adults had a great time!
you did fantastic! I love the look style of it all and I am positive all the guests must have had a great time too. perfect summer party.
Thank you! We really enjoyed ourselves.
Such a cute party theme! I did a carnival curious George party for my little boys a few years ago. So much fun creating the games. I love garden parties and BBQs for the summer.
Oh, I bet the Curious George party was adorable! Carnival games are fun for everyone!
This sounds like such a fabulous idea! I love the menu: fried chicken & cobb salad are two of my faves 🙂
Thank you! what I love is that it was all done ahead!
The carnival games look like so much fun for the little ones. And so easy to set up. It is amazing what you can do with some imagination. The food all looks super yummy as well!
I know! The games came together so easy and fast! And the teenagers were enjoying it as much as the littles 🙂
This looks like such a fun party. I have never seen this type of theme before and want to use it for a get together soon.
It was a fun party for sure! I hope you get the chance to host our own.
That looks fun. Our State Fair is in October and we look forward to it every year. They all are family friendly, arent they? I like those banners too.
Thanks! Our whole family loves the fair!
It looks like such a fun place. We don’t have such luxuries here given the constraint of space.
Thanks! Since this is a picnic party everything is easily transportable to a park. You could even make it a potluck!
What a fun idea! I never would have thought to do a fair themes party, but it is an awesome idea! I may have to do something like this at some point.
What’s great is that it’s the perfect party for all ages. We had a wonderful time!
I have to confess I have never been to a county fair before but I love the simplicity of the party menu. I am all for a picnic party that involves watermelon, they are so refreshing in the summer x
We love watermelon!
What a great idea! This looks like so much fun. It would be a great neighborhood activity too!
Yes! Next year I am going to make this a neighborhood party.
Going to a country fair is like a staple every time the summer rolls in. It’s something that we shouldn’t miss! It would be so nice to host a party with that theme during the summer!
I agree! And I think this is the prefect pre-fair kick-off party!
What an awesome party to be a part of! I love every single detail, from the decor to the food. You invitation is adorable too! What a cute theme for the summer!
Thanks! I don’t know why I never thought of this theme before, but it is becoming a summer staple!
I love a good fair! We have a huge one in August here in Brisbane (Australia) called the EKKA. It’s a great time and I love getting showbags, going on rides etc. So fun
I totally agree! Fairs are the best. There is always so much to do there. I would love to visit Brisbane one day!
Oh my gosh, all the foods looks amazing and this looks like the perfect summer party. These are so cool, and they seem so much fun.
Thanks, we had a wonderful time.
We have smaller carnivals that travel town to town. My kids definitely look forward to them, but I feel like they are coming around less and less as the years go by.
Oh, that is too bad! Well, then it is time to set up your own backyard version! 🙂
How fun is this! I would love to do something like this for the kids in my area before school starts. Maybe I will!
I hope you do! It was easy and fun. I plan on doing it next year for a block party.