I went to the California State Fair last week. It doesn’t stand up to Iowa’s awesome fair in terms of size and variety, but was still pretty fun. It had the usual miles of vendor stalls selling all manner of junk, the livestock sheds with bored-looking 4H kids sitting around, flower displays and blue ribboned-baked goods. One thing I hadn’t seen before was a “sturgeon petting pool”–it doesn’t sound too exciting, but people were really getting into it.
Oh, and the food! What would the fair be without a corn dog and a beer? Or maybe some chocolate covered onion rings or delicious alligator on a stick? Or a pork chop on a stick, for that matter. Or deep fried anything…twinkies, pop tarts, klondike bars, hot dogs dipped in hash browns and fried, deep fried stick of butter…huh?
Once the sun goes down, I love cruising the midway with the lights and sounds and people stumbling off the tilt-a-whirls. Along with various bands playing the smaller stages, they had some decent headlining acts this year, with Weird Al closing it out on Sunday night.
For me, a State Fair (or even a county fair) is Americana distilled down into 80 acres. You can spend a lot of money on rides, food, and other stuff, but for around $12 to get in, I think the overall experience is a bargain.
No state fair this year, but I’m in the process of deciding what to enter in the County Fair. We’ve gotten back into going to that every year, and with an entry we get passes. Plus the ribbon money (at least I hope).
The fair is a lot smaller than it used to be, but I can still get roasted corn from the Boy Scouts and ice cream from the Methodist Church.
Won’t be going to the State Fair, but I will go to the LA County fair, which is larger than some State Fairs.
Besides the food, I love to go watch the barkers sell stuff in the marketplace. I sit in the back and watch in awe as they hook people in to buy.
Pure entertainment as far as I am concerned.
No, I’m not going to a state fair this summer! The NC State Fair is in October :). I’ll definitely be there - I love the fair. I usually skip the fairway, with the rides and games, and stick to the livestock barns and the vegetable contests. Although I’ve lived in lots of different places, but I don’t think a year in my life has gone by without going to a fair.
I already hit the Orange County Fair this year. My son worked at the Boy Scout booth, my wife and I took our little one and his friend around for fried goodness, exhibits, cows and pigs, more fried goodness, chocolate covered bacon, corn dogs, funnel cake, a reading center and everything else.
I hit the OC fair every year, I grew up with the Tulsa State Fair.
We’ll be going to the MN State Fair which is the largest in daily attendance (although the Texas State Fair, which runs for two weeks, is larger in total attendance.)
We don’t have a butter cow but we do have Dairy Princess’s heads carved in butter.
For three generations of owners the World’s Largest Traveling Midway, Royal American Shows, provided the midway there and as a afficionado of carnival and sideshow history I’ve enjoyed many seasons of their stellar examples of quality carnival kitsch.
I miss the days when an evening at the midway was a taste of the forbidden with its hootchy-kootchy and dusky gypsy-like carnival denizens with their tattoos and pierced earrings. These days the crowd looks like that and the carnies all wear polo shirts, are cleancut and look like college kids. All to not offend the locals. Heh. And I can see hootchy-kootchy at my local college bar for free. A topsy turvy world we inhabit.
Ahem. The fair also has an excellent museum with items dating to the beginning.
Yep. The Ohio State Fair is always late July/early August.
I haven’t been to the fair in a while. I was thinking I’d go on Monday, but it looks like it ends on Sunday, the 8th. (Looks like you need to go this week, MsWhatsit!)
The State Fair near where I grew up was always in late September to early October. Students always got out of school a half-day at some point, and free tickets. Was a fun day.
I hope to hit the Minnesota State Fair too - I want to see Rush, TheKid wants to see Carrie Underwood. Don’t know if we will see either, but we do need a new yardstick and I have been jonesing for cookies.
