Meet Me at the Fair

Summary
Buster goes to a farm and learns the major chores Lauren and Nathan have to do every day which include feeding the cows, taking out the garbage, and cleaning the house. He also learns that some of them include riding horses, driving forklift tractors, and showing their pigs off when the County Fair is in town.

Plot
The episode begins with Carlos and Mora playing music on an airplane while Buster is reading the Farmer's Almanac. Buster says that, according to the Almanac, the next couple of days should be warm and sunny. Carlos says that sounds ideal for the outdoor concert he and Mora will be performing at the county fair. Buster adds that it is "also a good time to bring in the hay". Buster explains that he that he will be visiting the Farm of Lauren and Nathan. Buster doesn't know what kind of a farm he will be staying at, and worries that, if it's a dairy farm, and he doesn't know how to milk a cow, he will look like a "city kid". A few seconds later, the pilot says they will land in approximately 20 minutes. After landing, Buster and his father Bo drive to the farm. Buster is amazed by the countryside, and records it with his camera. After a while they arrive at the farm. The family introduces themselves to Buster, and show him their farm. Later on, Buster rides the tractor, and asks Lauren if she can go sideways. However, Lauren needs to be ready for supper, and has to go to bed early, because the competition is tomorrow. At 8:10 p.m., with the sun not even having set yet, Buster is the bedroom, reading the Farmer's Almanac. He finds out the sunset in the country is 8:42 pm and sunrise is at 5:58 a.m. He wonders "why it has to be so early." At 6:15, Buster wakes up and grabs the camera, recording again. He smells something good, and finds out the family is having breakfast, and the mother offers him French toast. After they have breakfast, they go to the fair. Nathan wins the pig contest, and receives a trophy. Now, they go to visit the chicken farm. After that, they go to visit the sheep. buster patted the sheep. Nathan and Lauren have to clean the horse.

Characters

 * Buster Baxter
 * Lauren Jernas
 * Nathan Jernas
 * Bo Baxter
 * Carlos Velasquez
 * Mora Velasquez
 * Larry Jernas
 * Mrs. Jernas
 * Francine (pig)
 * Penny
 * Daniel Daniel
 * Alan Selvidge
 * Jerry Hoffman
 * Jim McAllister
 * Stub
 * Bea
 * Max Daniel
 * Francine Frensky (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Within the continuity of the show, Buster's mom went to college with Mrs. Jernas. It's unknown if Mrs. Jernas went to college in real life.
 * Buster refers to his friend Francine when Lauren shows her pig also named Francine.

Episode connections

 * Bo mentions that Buster had discovered a comet, which happened in "The Boy Who Cried Comet".

Goofs/Errors

 * Buster said that he was told Mrs. Jernas had a kid his age, but both kids are older than 8.
 * Nathan states that the old car in the barn is a 1949 Plymouth, but it is in fact a 1941.
 * All of the family look up at the cameraman, instead of down at where Buster would be.

Production notes

 * Although this episode aired in 2004, it was actually filmed at least a year before in 2003 (the same year the original Arthur episode aired) due to the year that's shown on the award Nathan gets.
 * After the Jernas family had been scouted, Deep Fried Pickle Project were chosen to appear in the episode after Natatcha Estebanez, WGBH series producer, saw them perform at the Box Factory in Indiana.

Songs

 * "Meet Me at the Fair"

Home video
DVD: VHS:
 * Buster's Outdoor Journeys
 * Postcards From Buster: The Complete Series
 * Meet Me at the Fair
 * Buster's Outdoor Journeys