The family is the basic unit of society—yet, statistically, family members are the very people most likely to steal that extra Arch Deluxe you've been saving for all these years. Spend time solidifying family alliances with today's Groupon: for $44, you get four season passes to the Lane County Fair, running August 17–21 (up to an $88 value).

The Lane County Fair, first run in 1859, fills the August air with live music, enticing aromas, and the twinkling lights of carnival rides. Gain inspiration for future shower concertos with performances by Tommy Tutone, Nashville's Eric Church, and Creedence Clearwater Revisited, formed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rhythm section of Creedence Clearwater Revival, all of whom headline the lengthy list of mainstage performers. Biwheeled vehicles reach new heights in the Boost Mobile Freestyle Motocross Tour, and the eight All-Alaskan Racing Pigs trot merrily around their sawdust-covered track as bystanders watch. The fair's many carnival rides, including the new ground-dwarfing Vertigo, a brightly-colored adrenaline enhancer that cradles heights seekers in swings and whisks them up 100 feet high for a towering view of the lights below, attract revelers and seatbelt fanatics alike ($0.50/ticket, rides take multiple tickets). Local farmers and craftspeople await the bestowment of ribbons as they display their skill and handiwork in numerous exhibitions.

The fair's Incredible Jungle Encounter boasts monkeys, parrots, and jungle porcupines who eagerly await their fair-going visitors. Pint-size peddlers propel leg-powered tractors down a 30-foot track in the children's tractor pull, and the Ben & Jerry's–sponsored Fabulous Fair Food Court stands ready to supply fairground tastes to those in need of a nosh. Throughout, performers roam the ground on stilts, delighting passersby and checking for tent-top graffiti.