# Do you like state fairs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440 "2011-09-24T07:28:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/21 "2011-09-24T16:50:46Z")
Texas State Fair is still big and Texan. Oklahoma State Fair got taken over by money grubbers and vendors are now about half of what there used to be. And about half of the current crop of vendors aren’t even local. That’s what happens when the management wants too much money for vendors to show and sale. Pity, used to be a great way to see a lot of neat things. The county fairs out here are what’s really cool. Amazing what a variety of goods and entertainment there is in any given area. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/22 "2011-09-24T19:19:29Z")
I don’t like them at all but I do like the smaller fairs and carnivals that come to the mall parking lots in Memphis occasionally. I don’t ride the rides but my girls do so I get to see them happy. The farm animals are always fun but I find the most pleasure out of people watching. I love some corn dogs and funnel cakes. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/23 "2011-09-24T20:30:12Z")
We go to the Mississippi State Fair every year, and we always have a good time. There are plenty of ways to have fun on a budget: free admission and parking during weekday lunch, ride bracelets, and lots of shows and exhibitions. We went to the Kentucky State Fair when we lived up there: the Mississippi fair has more of a hometown feel to it. We had a blast at both: but I like the Mississippi one better. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/24 "2011-09-25T03:04:12Z")
My friend recruits kids to show my puppy at the state fair. I spend 2 full days at the dog show manning a booth promoting guide dogs. I also work the gates with the money going to my service club. Both activities allow me time to wonder around and enjoy the exhibits. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/25 "2011-09-25T03:14:09Z")
I like the state fair well enough. It’s in my home town, so it’s easy to get to. But it’s always so HOT. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/26 "2011-09-25T05:15:04Z")
Just misread this as **Do you like stale farts?** Hell, I don’t even like fresh ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/27 "2011-09-25T05:16:08Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I like the state fair well enough. It’s in my home town, so it’s easy to get to. But it’s always so HOT. Ours is in October. The summer would just be unbearable here. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/28 "2011-09-26T02:13:12Z")
I like the idea of them, and the wacky foods, but I have some severe back issues that make lots of walking troublesome. Joe ---
**Author:** ![beachbetch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@beachbetch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beachbetch)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/29 "2011-09-26T14:36:56Z")
No. Our state fair is expensive, dirty, hot (end of July) and gross. Livestock were dying in the exhibition hall this summer from heat and dehydration. Carnies harass young girls and scam local businesses all week. Even when I was young and it was THE place to go in July and all the 4H kids loved it-I hated it. Weirdly enough, I LOVE LOVE LOVE rickety, noisy carnival style rides. I will spend hours riding coasters and such at Six Flags. The cool rides at the fair do not make up for the degree of grossness. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/30 "2011-09-26T15:44:40Z")
I’ve not been to one in Central PA, but each year there’s the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg. (In January, inside.) I love going to that, although I hate the crowds. I love seeing the animals and eating the food. I wouldn’t ride the rides if they had any at the Farm Show (especially not living so close to Hershey Park). When I lived in Tulsa, I recall several years of going to the fair as a kid and it was also so horribly hot. And crowded. Not a good experience. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/31 "2011-09-26T18:03:12Z")
Love 'em! I can’t see the whole thing in one day anymore, unless I have the next day off for my knees and hips to recover. I visit the animal and ag exhibits, as well as the “home arts”. My favorite ride often goes by the name Gravitron. I even like to watch the Vitamix demos. And then there’s the food… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/32 "2011-09-26T18:28:07Z")
They bore me to death. The rides are sucky, the food bad and the booths are ripoffs. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/33 "2011-09-26T18:32:33Z")
I like the shows and junk food. The rides, midway games, and product demonstrations I could live without. Prize winning vegetables I’m neutral on. As a bonus, the Canadian National Exhibition has an air show. ---
**Author:** ![rebeccasrevenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@rebeccasrevenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rebeccasrevenge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/34 "2011-09-26T20:26:25Z")
State fairs.County fairs.Let’s face it they’re all the same; cheesy displays of homemade quilts and preserved fruits and that God awful art by children. The rides are boring and look like they’re just one cotter pin away from total collapse.The games are truly a ripoff,I mean would you spend 30 dollars in a store for a teeny stuffed Spongebob doll?Yet,despite all of that I love fairs for one reason,Funnel Cakes.I don’t know how they do it,maybe it’s some kind of hoodoo fair magic but the funnel cakes at the fair,any fair,are superb.They have just the right amount of grease (kinda like McDonalds french fries) and sugar. So,all of the bumping your way through the madding crowds,paying the exorbitant price of admission not to mention the cost for parking is worth it just to savor that first bite out of a fair funnel cake. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/35 "2011-09-26T20:28:55Z")
It’s been about 12 years since I went to mine. I don’t dare go back, for fear of tarnishing my good youthful memories with the phobias and cynicism of adulthood. When I was a high school freshman, my marching band performed in the State Fair and qualified to perform at the night show, which was a lot of goddamn fun. We wandered around and drank lemon shake-ups with REAL LEMONS in the cup! And rode those hang-glider rides, and looked at really cool quilts, and ate some delicious barbeque. Lots of fun times. These days, I’d still like the food and the exhibits, but I couldn’t spend more than a couple hours at one due to my hatred of crowds (and a bum knee). Then I’d spend the rest of the day/weekend recovering (from forcing an extreme introvert out of its natural habitat). Not worth the money, for that. ---
**Author:** ![rebeccasrevenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@rebeccasrevenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rebeccasrevenge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/36 "2011-09-26T20:31:30Z")
😕 > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Just misread this as **Do you like stale farts?** Hell, I don’t even like fresh ones. ``` The day old ones aren't so bad ``` ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440/37 "2011-09-26T20:45:35Z")
We went to the LA County Fair yesterday and had a grand time. Pigged out and stepped in cow shit. Bought two bundles of Sham-Wow. Looked at all the people. If you ever get depressed and think you are too fat or too ugly for anybody to ever fuck, much less marry, go to a fair. There are couples there that will convince you to carry on. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-state-fairs/597440.md?page=1)