The Franklin County Fair, seen from the top of a ferris wheel in 2018, sprawls out across the Malone fairgrounds, with rides, games and food abundant. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

MALONE — There are many ways to speed up, cool down and fool around at the Franklin County Fair.

While the sun blazed overhead this weekend, fair-goers rocked out to REO Speedwagon, drank literal buckets of lemonade and rode themselves dizzy on an assortment of around 15 rides.

On Sunday Republicans and Democrats registered people to vote, talked politics and campaigned with voters, people walking the shopping area could buy everything from a hot tub to a gravestone, and the mud was flying at the tractor pull.

—

What to do if you go

The week has been very hot, and with limited shade, spinning rides and salty food it is easy to become dehydrated. Everywhere you turn vendors are selling lemonade, water, sno-cones and sodas, but for the best thirst-quenching drink for your buck, go to Lemi’s in the back of the food court area. The stand, run by a local florist, has a sweet, sour and refreshing lemonade and orangeade mix that can be sipped on around the park or chugged right there on the spot.

Again, with food there are countless options to choose from. For a good burger, check out the AMVETS stand — conveniently located right across from Lemi’s — where the veterans are cooking up steak burgers and chatting with customers.

—

Games

Games are a staple of fairs and everyone seems to try their luck or test their skill at least once. While it might be tempting to pay $5 in an attempt to knock over a pile of milk jugs to win an oversized poop emoji, there is a chance you gave up a Lincoln just to lob a ball at the back of a tent.

Between the rest of the games and the food court sits “I got it.” This combination of luck and skill only costs a dollar to play a game and is pretty entertaining, even if you walk away empty-handed. Players take a seat in the shade, tossing rubber balls at a grid in front of them, trying to be the first to land a row of five. It is essentially bingo without numbers. There is something fun about the unpredictable bounces of the balls and unless you play with the maniac who can land the first five in a row, lasts for a couple minutes.

Playing this one when not many other people are increases the odds of winning, and prizes include some more practical items, like baking pans, wine glasses, and of course, poop emojis.

—

Riding high

There are rides for every speed of fair-goer. High-intensity ones, like the aptly-named Chaos, which spins and swings erratically, and the Super Shot, which drops riders without warning at a moment’s notice, rarely failed to elicit screams from children and adults alike. The Trapeze swings, Scrambler and Zero Gravity left many with big smiles and lost lunches. Kids can ride motorcycles, teacups or horses in tamer, less sickening rides.

At the bumper cars, fierce battles broke out all day long, as children teamed up against adults, boyfriends turned on girlfriends and grandparents targeted grandchildren with jarring accuracy.

There are still more events to attend before the fair ends on Aug. 12, including demolition derbies, tractor pulls, musical acts, animal shows and contests and the Miss Franklin County Fair Pageant.

The St. Lawrence County Fair came to a close Sunday. The Essex County Fair will run Aug. 15-19.