# Freedom 250 - The Great American State Fair **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470 "2026-05-29T03:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/461 "2026-06-28T19:55:02Z")
I see the appeal of gawking, but if I went I’d be sure I was obviously a protester, not an attendee. I think a sign would be better than just a shirt. However, I’m not sure I’d be up for the abuse I’d suffer as a sole protestor. And a large organized protest is too easily spun as a protest against the US, not Trump. I guess I’m convincing myself that I’d stay away too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/462 "2026-06-28T19:56:39Z")
You can’t win wrestling with a pig. Just laugh and point from a suitable distance. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/463 "2026-06-28T20:04:46Z")
“America Thinks It’s Got Talent”. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/464 "2026-06-28T20:05:20Z")
Hmm, I take your points, @Procrustus @TroutMan and @LSLGuy . You may be right. Fortunately, there’s no way in hell I could so, so I don’t have to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/465 "2026-06-28T20:06:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or an aerial version of that dumb “tanks through DC” parade he did a few years ago. Wasn’t that just **last year**??? (Truly, every month these days DOES feel like a whole year…) > [@TroutMan](#): > > However, I’m not sure I’d be up for the abuse I’d suffer as a sole protestor. You wouldn’t be ‘sole’—though perhaps if wandering through those pathetic states’ displays, you wouldn’t be part of a large crowd. But by several accounts, there ARE large crowds of protesters just a few blocks away: > **[Askme (@askme99.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/askme99.bsky.social/post/3mpdg5t7pv22j)** > > There are more people protesting Orange Shit Stain outside the “Great American State Fair” event than there are at the actual event. > [@](#): > > Crowds are gathering at McPherson Square. That’s a park just a few blocks away from the White House. And they came here from all over the country. Buses brought people in from cities up and down the East Coast and the Midwest. Some folks even flew in from as far away as Alaska. They had voter registration booths, games and music. [https://www.npr.org/2026/06/27/nx-s1-5871188/as-america-turns-250-protesters-make-their-case](https://www.npr.org/2026/06/27/nx-s1-5871188/as-america-turns-250-protesters-make-their-case) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/466 "2026-06-28T20:50:26Z")
I don’t know if it was 4-H or American farmers or whatever, but a cow there was named Melania. I’m in Colorado, and I’m enjoying this fair very much. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/467 "2026-06-28T21:49:03Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > if you were in DC and had convenient transport, would you go gawk at this pitiful excuse for a celebration? I am and I do and I won’t ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/468 "2026-06-28T22:01:56Z")
_Veni, vidi, merde_. I came. I saw. It was shite. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/469 "2026-06-28T22:06:27Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > A question for thread participants: if you were in DC and had convenient transport, would you go gawk at this pitiful excuse for a celebration? If I were still at the DC job I had 2018-24 I could see myself doing a quick walkaround over an extended lunch break or at the end of the day, just to get the real sense of it. But would not do a dedicated daytrip from across the river for it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/470 "2026-06-28T22:16:40Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Wasn’t that just **last year**??? > > (Truly, every month these days DOES feel like a whole year…) He tried to have one in 2018. But that fell apart. He did have one in June 2025. So you’re right and I’m a bit right but mostly wrong. Just like this cockamamie parade idea: mostly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/471 "2026-06-28T22:34:24Z")
I grew up up in Silver Spring. I can guarantee that neither my folks nor I would get anywhere near this fiasco. Not only would we not want to support the current regime, but even if it was something that we might find appealing, the idea of fighting crowds to see what’s what would be off-putting. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/472 "2026-06-28T22:44:19Z")
Crowds? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/473 "2026-06-28T22:52:07Z")
Right. If it was some event that we might like, it’s likely that a majority of DC area residents might like it, too. So - crowds. In this case, we could have the whole place to ourselves and still not want to go. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/474 "2026-06-28T23:28:47Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s too bad that Spiro Gyra turned them down… What are you talking about? They’re waiting in the reflecting pool. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/475 "2026-06-28T23:31:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > _Veni, vidi, merde_. > > I came. I saw. It was shite. _Veni, vidi, fece_ works, too. Honestly I’m not which I like better. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/476 "2026-06-29T00:39:45Z")
She reminds of the matriarch, (Mamie White passed away 2006) of the Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. (pretty crazy clan) [https://www.imdb.com/video/vi745801497/?ref\_=ttvg\_vi\_1](https://www.imdb.com/video/vi745801497/?ref_=ttvg_vi_1) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/477 "2026-06-29T00:48:38Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > They find some grifters to at least make a show of it for the 4th itself. Gonna be difficult with 85° and thunder expected at fireworks time. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@DJT](#): > > > > It goes from 1:15 P.M. And an expected heat index around 105° at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/478 "2026-06-29T00:57:30Z")
Humidity and fireworks do not mix well. Last time we watched the fireworks in person, we did so from the grounds of the [Air Force Memorial.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Memorial) Hardly saw a thing because all the smoke just accumulated in place and hung there for the duration. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/479 "2026-06-29T01:06:29Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > A question for thread participants: if you were in DC and had convenient transport, would you go gawk at this pitiful excuse for a celebration? As a foreigner, if I was in Washington DC right now, I’d want to see the sights: the Smithsonian, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, and so on. Not a mini-putt for Indiana, and a couple of chairs for Maine. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/480 "2026-06-29T11:35:05Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > EDIT: was she trying to sing about being born a certain colour? (try not to re-listen too many times) Pretty sure that was supposed to be “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, the Loretta Lynn song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=25)