Faces of the fair NEWS reporter Kristen Andresen and photo staffers Bob DeLong, Linda Coan O’Kresik, Jason Canniff, Nick McClelland, Kevin Bennett, Stephen M. Katz, Terry Farren, Linda Kamp and Gaylen Smith contributed to this special project.

When people talk about the Bangor State Fair, they mention the sausage sandwiches, piled with peppers and onions, oozing oil out the bun. They talk about the rides that tossed them up into the air and down again, making their stomachs excited and woozy at the same time. They love the fuzzy bunnies and groomed ponies, the chicks and the woolly sheep.

But the biggest attraction at the fair has little to do with the games or the food or the exhibition booths – it’s the people. The young woman at the hot dog stand, the older man with the cows, the little girl taking her first pony ride, the fortuneteller, the visitor from California – though they may have little in common in their day-to-day lives, the fair brings them together.

For this project, we wanted to focus on these unique faces – from a sun-conscious Toronto family to a zookeeper from Massachusetts with a bird on his shoulder. Alone, they’re interesting. Together, they’re diverse, funny, poignant, even nostalgic – fair faces.