The Warren County A&L Fair is so close, you can almost smell the cotton candy.An estimated 125,000 visitors are expected to pack the fairgrounds during the nine-day event which begins this Friday. The pageantry gets under way, fittingly enough, with two pageants Friday night, along with a sheep show.Gospel singing will fill its traditional timeslot AT 1 p.m. Sunday before Monday night brings the petting zoo, carnival rides, and the Fairest of the Fair.“Being a free fair certainly helps us get a lot of people through the gate,” said fair president Kenneth Medlen. “We’re the only free fair left in the state.