It began as a normal phone interview about the debut of an event, but then it turned down memory lane as we began to realize how connected we were through one simple piece of history – the Michigan State Fair.

I remember exhibiting there my first year. While my father was not in favor of it, my mom, with all her state fair background as a 4-Her (and a fanatic), assured Dad that inside the grounds at Eight Mile and Woodward in downtown Detroit was perfectly safe for his wife and youngest daughter.

As crazy as that assurance sounded, it was a perfectly safe place once you were inside the gates. The dairy barn was full of cattle and it was an exciting place to be. We worked hard, enjoyed the competition and met people who would impact my life in ways I could not imagine.

This is not a unique scenario to the Michigan State Fair. This is something that happens from the county level on up to any state fair in the country. They are designed to be a place of recreation and recognition where city meets country and agriculture is showcased.

And, when you take it down to the human level, it’s a place of tradition and excitement and, most of all, friendship.

But in 2009 the tradition came to a screeching halt as Woodward and Eight Mile would no longer see carnival rides, the Detroit mounted police drill team or livestock of any kind. The Michigan State Fair had been headed down a dead end road for a few years, when funding was short and participation from exhibitors was even shorter.

It was an end of an era that enjoyed a coliseum filled with the eerie bellowing of mature bulls being shown with two handlers, Haagen-Dazs ice cream treats and impromptu midnight auctions over the sound system in the historic dairy barn.

But a solid core of traditionalists wouldn’t let the ship go down – and they are about to launch their first attempt at the showcase where agriculture is king and education is key. Rural will meet urban at the Great Lakes State Fair, to take place over Labor Day weekend at the Suburban Showcase Center in Novi, Mich.

While it won’t have the hallowed memories of the past, this new state fair venture has all the key elements for success: a midway for kids, great eating places for adults and a livestock exhibit area that has been termed “a little Louisville.”

A great group of enthusiastic supporters from all interests of a state fair have worked hard to assemble this new tradition for first-time state fair-goers and those who have yet figure out what to do on Labor Day weekend.

I’m excited about attending the first-ever Great Lakes State Fair. No, the livestock shows won’t be huge and the environment won’t be familiar, but when it all comes right down to it, the elephant ears and French fries will make us hungry, the faces will be friendly and the sweet smell of shavings will let us know we are in the right place and an old friend is just on the other side of that stack of hay.

For more information on the Great Lakes State Fair, visit www.great lakesstatefair.org

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.