# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/601 "2026-07-01T20:06:10Z")
About the only thing they couldn’t get shitty would be literal shit. They’d find a way to get that wrong too. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/602 "2026-07-01T20:10:54Z")
There is a town by where I grew up, they have tractor pulls this July 4. Mind you, this “town” has 200 people, the whole county only has 15000, and it is probably the poorest county in the state. Yet they have 21 separate classes. (How many tractors _are_ there nearby?) They have a parade and a chicken dinner. And as far as I know, they all have fun.\* If a town of 200 can have that, WTF is wrong with trump’s organizers? \*According to my friend that still lives there, they almost all vote MAGA. So probably unhappy inside. But tractor pulls and chicken dinners cross party lines. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/603 "2026-07-01T20:31:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But tractor pulls and chicken dinners cross party lines. Now I want to see a tug-of-war across party lines… ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/604 "2026-07-01T20:32:25Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Probably? I can nearly guarantee ANY state fair is better than this shit-show. Sheeessss. Two weeks ago, the little town of Berthoud Colorado had a great town festival. Many informative boths, and lots of fun ones. And plenty to eat and buy. And great cover bands. 5 bucks for a local brewery beer, and we had great Chicago style hot dogs. Oh, and a parade. My wife and I spent about 4 hours there. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/605 "2026-07-01T20:49:54Z")
There are high schools with bigger tailgates for random football games than this joke of a fair ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/606 "2026-07-01T21:09:54Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I’ve been to the WA state fair a couple times many years ago, and it was great! In Puyallup? I thought that was only half-of-Washington state fair. Now I want a fresh-from-the-oven scone. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/607 "2026-07-01T21:12:19Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > How are you supposed to eat corn, apples, and peanuts without a fork and spoon? It’s not like you can just pick them up in your hands. I’ve heard that people in Virginia use a lot of cutlery, because most of them eat three meals a day. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/608 "2026-07-01T21:22:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > WTF is wrong with trump’s organizers? It’s almost like they’ve never been to a fair or outdoor celebration event. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In Puyallup? I thought that was only half-of-Washington state fair. Yep. Did some dairy judging and other FFA’y stuff. If you’ve watched Napoleon Dynamite, you know what we were up to. We did get to enjoy the rest of the fair though. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Now I want a fresh-from-the-oven scone. Elephant ear! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/609 "2026-07-01T21:31:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > MN state fair is like the gold standard for fairs. World famous butter sculpture! From Governor Tim Walz on Facebook a few days ago (notice the wording at the end): > [@](#): > > America’s real state fair starts August 27th. Plan accordingly and thank you for your attention to this matter. > **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1606258814187575&id=100044104150490&rdid=sv3JrAZIeXkTIvxG&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2F1K3rozKsfn%2F)** ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/610 "2026-07-01T21:36:00Z")
LOL. It got my attention. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/611 "2026-07-01T21:50:45Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Elephant ear! The best place for scones was under the grandstand; big pans of scones from an oven on-site.. I managed to time it perfectly, just once. The customer ahead of me got the last scone from one pan. The next pan was pulled from the oven, the first scone got butter and raspberry jam, and was in my hand in five seconds. Haven’t been there in 30 years, but I’d almost be surprised if that stand isn’t still serving scones during the fair in September. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/612 "2026-07-01T21:51:25Z")
I’m honestly a little baffled by how poorly attended this is. In the past, there have been tens of thousands (at least) of MAGA faithful that were willing to travel to MAGA events just to show they’re the #1 MAGA cultists. Where are those people? Shouldn’t they be at this event? It makes me wonder if MAGA has hollowed out recently with even the cultists not having any enthusiasm for the movement but we don’t see the effect online because there are millions of bots simulating MAGA people loudly, which masks the great quieting of real MAGA or former MAGA cultists. And the media (including the “mainstream” media) basically dedicating themselves to sanewashing Trump and pretending things are normal are helping prop up this illusion by not investigating or showing how the MAGA movement is falling apart, if it is. Because if this sort of thing happened in 2017, there would be hundreds of thousands of MAGA people from all over the country there just to show support for the cult. The fact that there are like 97 people is quite frankly bizarre. This is a strong piece of circumstantial evidence, in my book, for the dead internet theory. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/613 "2026-07-01T22:10:34Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In Puyallup? I thought that was only half-of-Washington state fair. If you’re a local it will always be “The Puyallup”. Regardless of what branding they try to use. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/614 "2026-07-01T22:35:07Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > World famous butter sculpture! The [State Fairs](https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/state-fairs) exhibition at the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery has a butter cow. This year-long show was planned to be tied in with the 250th, but Trump couldn’t stand having anything good involved. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/615 "2026-07-01T22:46:21Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Anyway - apparently the Illinois exhibition feature a bin of loose corn. So exciting. I’m envisioning a small version of the local family fun farm’s ‘corn playhouse’ - sort of like a deep sand box, but full of corn kernels for the kids to wallow in. I’ve been told it develops a unique odor. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/616 "2026-07-01T23:15:55Z")
This spring from Virginia’s “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign, which dates back to the late 1960s. It is almost certainly an attempt to recover from the bad PR from Loving v. Virginia, the single worst name for a Supreme Court case since Santa Clause v. Springfield. > **[LOVE - Virginia Is For Lovers](https://www.virginia.org/love/)** > > LOVEworks around Virginia. The LOVEworks represent our communities and provide fun photo ops at Welcome Centers and special events throughout the year. > **[Virginia Is for Lovers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Is_for_Lovers)** > > "Virginia is for Lovers" (stylized in all caps as VIRGINIA IS FOR LO❤ERS) is the tourism and travel slogan of the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Used since 1969, it has become a well-recognized and often imitated part of American jargon. In 2012, Advertising Age magazine called "Virginia is for Lovers" "one of the most iconic ad campaigns in the past 50 years." A team led by David N. Martin and George Woltz of Martin and Woltz Inc. of Richmond, Virginia created the slogan after winning the Virgi... ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/617 "2026-07-01T23:24:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > OK, now that’s a missed opportunity! Imagine, walking in and there is a 200x200 foot screen with trump the magnificent and benevolent looking down on his people, and a booming voice says “WELCOME!”. And due to the advances of modern tech, his eyes follow you around But even that would have required some competent advanced planning. And the one thing that’s struck me about all of this is how last-minute and slap-dash it’s all been. Trump should have known this was coming from the day he took office again. But it’s like it caught them all by surprise, so they had to toss together this mess in just the last two months. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/618 "2026-07-01T23:32:51Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > But it’s like it caught them all by surprise, so they had to toss together this mess in just the last two months. You have to remember that MAGAs don’t really have very good taste about … well, anything. Add that to all the grifting which leads to doing everything on the cheap and this is what you get. [![](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wvnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/d3/3d3695e2-018d-5804-b1ce-b7a078935f6e/6a330a313e814.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C890) ](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/wvnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/d3/3d3695e2-018d-5804-b1ce-b7a078935f6e/6a330a313e814.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C890) ---
**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:** [July 1, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/619 "2026-07-01T23:35:12Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Trump should have known this was coming from the day he took office again. He started talking about it in 2023 and mentioned his plans for the greatest fair ever when he was campaigning in 2024. Lack of time isn’t the problem. If he’d left it with the bipartisan America 250, it might have been OK. But it was doomed once Trump took ownership with Freedom 250. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470/620 "2026-07-02T00:34:10Z")
Were these exhibits put up by junior highs from each state who won some sort of contest in hell? HTF can anyone associated with these things not be calling in sick for the next week or so? And if there are problems with the food, they should welcome a line of food trucks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freedom-250-the-great-american-state-fair/1030470.md?page=32)