Is there anything as uniquely American as a state fair? The livestock, the rides, the crafts, the concerts, the corndogs & cotton candy, the crowds, the heat...it's all a part of the American landscape come July and August. While I know that some of you avoid it like the plague, the California Mid-State Fair is really one of the best! It's clean, well organized, and manages to draw some of the best entertainment in the country. We always spend one full day up there each year just basking in the fair atmosphere with our kids. We ride the rides, eat junk food, check out the goats, chickens and bunnies, and generally get our fill of rural old fashioned America. Wes and I also enjoy the music at least one night - last year Steely Dan.
This year it was hard to choose as there are 3 different concerts we would like to see: Journey (my favorite band ever!), Judas Priest (80's metal band - gotta love it!) and KISS! Naturally we have decided on KISS because, well, it's KISS!! I would love to hear about how you all experience the fair. Are your kids involved with 4-H? Rodeo? Do you exhibit any handmade crafts? Are you going to see any concerts? Let us all know if there is anything we really shouldn't miss up there this year. Hope to see some of you there!
FAIRS - yes, good old timey fairs - I've been to many state fairs, some large ones, some very down homey - I prefer the down home ones, like the ones in Minnesota in Pauls' home town of Proctor, where there is no cover charge, you just walk right in, and more than likely, the guy at the gate knows you by name, he went to school with Paul. Their moms attended the same church, their sisters were cheeleaders together more than 50 years ago. The home economics building is full of locals' hand made pies, amazing huge zucchinis, dozens and dozens of canned fruits,
ReplyDeletevegetables, and all sorts of regional goods. The flower arrangements
are kinda' dried out, but you know some one put their heart and soul in
to their creation. You recognize most of the names on the blue ribbons,
of which there are plenty. The rides are pretty dinky, nothing big, nothing fancy. Paul remembers being able to help the carnies put together the rides for .25 cents an hour, and he could ride all the rides he wanted all night long. He ate so many watermelons one year, he
can't even look at one now. For $1 you can eat all the fresh corn you
want, dripping in butter. For another $l you can see the smallest donkey in the world... or try to dunk the school principal in to a vat of ice cold water. It takes less than an hour to walk around the whole
fair, see it all, eat it all, and pet all the animals. This is my kind
of fair. No crowds, no parking problems, no hassles. And every
night, the fireworks are some of the best we've ever seen. They go on
forever. We'll go back this year. I want to see if that little
donkey is still around. Monica & Paul