Fair game
Forty or so years ago, I went to the Minnesota State Fair. All I remember is that my younger sister and my dad were hurt by an errant cable that took them for an unintended and dangerous ride. To be honest, I remember the stories of the incident at the fair more than I remember the actual incident itself. Or the fair.
I've not been to a state fair since, except for when a has-been band or two (Jefferson Starship and .38 Special anyone?) headlined at the fairgrounds. I'm not sure if the horrible events of forty years ago scarred me forever, squelching my desire for fried foods at fantastically obscene prices and unregulated (or seemingly so to a paranoid such as myself) amusement rides at similarly obscene prices, or if there's some other deep-seated reason why I've never attended the state fair as an adult.
Becoming a grandma changes much, though, and one of the most recent changes has been my state fair attendance record. Yes, folks, my desert visit in October included a trip to the state fair.
I must admit, it was a far better occasion than my first fair visit, possibly because I steered clear of fried foods and flying cables. More probably, though, because I attended it with Bubby, Megan and Preston.
Being a grandma who likes to participate in my grandson's "firsts," the day was one for the history baby books as I got to ride with Bubby on his first-ever state fair ride. Here's a quick look at the fun we had at the fair:
In addition to typical fair attractions, there also was a life-size, animatronics dinosaur exhibit we enjoyed. Well, mostly enjoyed. Bubby was rather hesitant at first, but by the time we reached the end and he got to dig in the massive sandbox for fossils, I think he'd become a fan of dinosaurs. Pretty much. As long as they were nothing but bones. And didn't make noises. Or move.
It was perfect timing for introducing Bubby to the Hatch-n-Grow dinosaur egg, but, alas, the egg I carried in my Grandma Bag didn't survive the trip uncracked.
But that's okay. I have more eggs and will surely pack one in my Grandma Bag for another try during my visit at Thanksgiving. And after having the bejeezus scared out of him by the life-size T. Rex and its cousins, I'm pretty sure Bubby won't be frightened by an itsy-bitsy hatching baby dino.
Assuming, that is, that I can cushion the egg well enough in my suitcase this time to survive the wild and wacky airport baggage handlers, who are far scarier than hatching baby dino eggs. And errant amusement-ride cables, too.
Today's question:
What's most memorable about your past visits to the state fair?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Reader Comments (14)
Okay, the Oklahoma State Fair rocks! Seriously. I've been to the state fairs of Texas and Colorado and neither of them compare. It's like Goldilocks. Texas' is tooooo big. Colorado's is tooooo small. And Oklahoma's is juuuuust right. It is pretty much like a 2 week long state holiday when the fair is going on. People come from all over the state. Schools have "fair days" where they let kids out early to go (or at least they did when I was a kid). And most people go more than once. Sigh. It's awesome! One of these days, I'm going to have to make a special trip to Oklahoma just for the state fair.
I, too, have been to a state fair exactly twice. One time when I was little -- well before I was old enough to remember anything traumatic -- and once as an adult many years ago. Both times were the Illinois State Fair. To be honest, I was disappointed. I had wanted to go to the fair so badly, there was no way it could live up to the hype.
I worked near the county fair fairgrounds for a few years, and that was always fun. OK, it was always fattening. Mostly we'd go to the rodeo and eat funnel cakes.
I'm not a fair going person. The only memory I have is the time we took the girls (only had two at the time) to the fair with my in laws...the kids had a blast! I know you already know this but I'm going to say it anyway: Bubby is just precious!
In all those pictures of Bubby near a dinosaur, his usually smiling face looks pretty glum to me.
My most memorable State Fair was a Garth Brooks performance...except for the one in Minnesota when I found a $5.00 bill on the ground.
Aww, looks like great fun.
My best friend and I used to go to the county fair 3 or 4 times a year. Probably the best time I had there was seeing Wynnona. She's such a powerhouse.
Nice pictures! I have been to a few of state fairs ( MO, IL, HI, WA, CO) only because I wanted to take my kids when they were little and my granddaughter. They liked seeing the farm animals and of course the carnival rides. As my kids got to be teenagers, we would let them go to the carnival by themselves and my husband and I would hit the free concerts and beer gardens. But the older I get the more the crowds really bug me so we haven't been the past few years.
I haven't been to the fair for about 25 years. The last time I visited my four year old son wandered away from the family and got lost in the crowd. We searched frantically for him, finally finding him at the "Lost and Found". Some kindly woman noticed him wandering all by himself and took him to a Fair Security man who took him to the Lost and Found. I had to offer proof of parentship before they would release him to my custody. It was a very frightening ordeal for the whole family. His three sisters sat on a bench crying and praying until he was reunited with us.
I only went to our state fair a few times when I was really young. Then they moved it to another town and we couldn't be bothered to go.
The only solid memory I have from it is Scott Baio signing autographs and getting harassed by teenage girls. This must have been around 1982. Even then he came across as a twit.
The photos are great! Looks like everyone had a blast!
I tend to steer clear of state fairs, as well, even though we've never had a bad experience.
Love the pictures!
I only have teenager-type memories of the fair, and they usually included alcohol I wasn't supposed to be consuming. So no real memories there. We had Six Flags (Atlanta) right near our house, so the fairs just didn't hold much attraction for us. I did attend one in Ohio as an adult, and it was hot and there was smelly stuff that made me nauseous, and the whole day pretty much tanked.
Downer, huh? Sorry........
Hope everyone else's experiences were better!
Terri
My hubby and I ran the carousel for all 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair in 1989. We had just saved it from auction and were raising money to pay for it. At the end of the fair we dismantled it, restored it, and moved it to a new location.
When I was in my teens (which was about 45 years ago) my dad was the manager of the Utah State Fair. It was great because we got to go to everything for free. We were there almost every night going to events. I remember feeling very important. I love the fair especially the corndogs!
The last time I went to the fair it was with all of my grown children, their spouses, and all of my grands. We have a yearly tradition to attend the demolition derby that is held during the fair together. It is always great fun (19 of us to date!)
My favorite memory is when my grands went down the giant slide side by side with ear to ear smiles!
Love the dinosaur picture.