State/County Fairs and Carnivals

As I lay on my kid's bed tonight in unbelievable sweltering god awful heat for some reason I started thinking back to when I was a kid and summertime and what that meant. And it usually meant state fairs. Living in Sacramento until I was 8 meant we diligently attended the California State Fair yearly. It was a huge exciting event. I remember the fairgrounds being huge, much larger than they turned out to be when I went back to it in my late teens. It had an awesome monorail and two fucked up clown shows. It had an exciting log ride that splashed into water. By the time I was old enough to start riding 'real' rides we lived in Pueblo Colorado and we went to the State Fair there every year as well. By then I'd also gotten fascinated with beating the carnival games. I would win the most ridiculous shit: lots of 'rock' mirrors. I had an REO Speedwagon one. This must have been in 1985, by which time I'm pretty sure REO Speedwagon weren't a going concern. Lots of smaller ones with John Lennon on them.

I also am reminded that there were lots of melted soda bottles, glass ones with twisty tops. This might have been back in California though. I was obsessed with these, never one them for anything. Years later scored some (empty) ones at a garage sale and filled with colored water. I was pretty proud of those. The allure is mysterious; I'm sure the color bottles are at least partly to blame for me eventually becoming an alcoholic.

State Fairs are also where I saw my first real live music: Eddie Rabbit in 1979. The Hudson Brothers around the same time. Then later, countless shit crossover country garbage in innumerable beer gardens while my parents got wasted on Coors. It was still pretty exciting to see though for some reason.

Your state fair memories?

going on thursday, gonna be rockin as always

My parents took us to the Eastern Idaho State Fair every year, as small an affair as it sounds. They'd haul their five kids in on the day when kids got in free, and we never really did anything that cost money once inside. No rides, no snacks, no games or contests. We'd go to the petting zoo, look at the 4-H winners, and see the displays: prize-winning quilts, big veggies, etc.

It was always hot, and eventually it got boring – my parents would always end up in a very long conversation with some or another vendor. The worst year was when my dad spent the whole afternoon talking to some guy who sold a powdered milk called "Morning Moos" that he found superior to the powdered milk of his youth. How was the milk powdered? distributed? Where was it sold? Just what made it so much better than other powdered milk (but still nothing like regular milk)? Another year it was a guy who sold those little plastic eagles that balanced on things:

http://www.sunriseimports.com.au/shop/images/0702/toy-p215.jpg

It was the first time my dad had seen a plastic balancing eagle and he acted like he was onto something hot. Just dozens of impromptu market research questions thrown at this balancing-eagle-selling guy. That's what the fair was to me, my dad drilling people about business plans that made no sense.

There used to be a joint north Miss/north Ala fair in Tupelo until, uh sometime in the 90s I guess -- bigger than a county fair but not quite a state fair. My friends and I went for a few years after we got driver's licences but the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

I went to the CA State Fair a couple of years ago -- more of a work thing than a fun thing, though the barbecue and the grilled corn were good. The deep fried artichokes were seriously disappointing. The Roadfood thing I'm going to next month is going to involve a brief stop at the New Mexico State Fair on the evening of the 17th.

I've never been but I'm going today! Very excited tbh. I'm gonna eat some fried crap, pet some goats, watch pigs race and win a stuffed animal or two. :D

I am surprised how few replies this thread has...

We used to go to the Colac show back home in Australia every year...loved it! Loved the cheap silver jewellery that turned my skin green: the art show, the local crafts, the cake decorating, the animals...and the rides! Dodgem cars and the Joy Whizzer ftw!!

My friend's Dad was a local radio announcer, he mc'd the fireworks show every year. One year my friend, her brother & his girlfriend & I hung out to watch the show. When their dad started announcing, my friend & her brother were like "Ha ha that's the dork from the radio, lol what tool, lol how old is he" etc... And the brother's girlfriend got super pissed and was all "You guys are so mean!!! I think he's really nice and I bet he's a very nice man!"

Ah, lols. I miss those days.