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Space-Age, Latin, Exotica,
Balladiers, and Las Vegas Lounge. Music for an
atomic age! >October 07, 2004
I recently attended the Maryland State fair. Although it was one of the smaller State fairs I have had the pleasure of being acquianted with, it reminded of my long and sordid history with the best barnyard animals, the most exquisitely baked pies, the Midway and special food stalls you can only find at such a uniquely Americana event.
My first experience with a State's fair, was the Minnesotata State Fair located in St. Paul. As a youngster, my mother exhibited her yarn wares in a booth there and I was allowed to bounce around the exhibits and find all the things that parents and other adults just had to have to make their lives so much easier. It was fascinating.
Later on in life, I became enamored with Princess Kay of the Milky Way, the equivalent of the State dairy princess. When I was young, I thought that you had to be named Kay in order to win such a title and in order to have the privilege of handing out all the milk you could drink for a quarter and have your bust carved in butter. Alas, it was not so.....you could be named Sonya.
The Minnesota State Fair was also my first experience with commerce, as I as invited by the local music store to demonstrate Wurlitzer Organs in their prominent booth....."See, anybody can play the organ." I remember playing the "Theme from Midnight Cowboy" repeatedly, as it was my favorite song at the time, along with "Both Sides Now" and "Jean." It was a heady day at the Fair for me and to be paid for it as well, enough to enjoy several rides at the Midway.
My next State Fair event was the Montana State Fair while in college. I don't remember much significant about it other than it was my first experience with a Rodeo and my first experience with a Mandrell sister - the one that played the violin.
Later in life came the Texas State Fair, the granddaddy of them all. I was fortunate enough to work at WRR Radio, which had it's offices permenently located on the fair grounds and allowed me free entrance to the month long event on a daily basis. Corn dogs were aplenty and the Flea Circus was one of my favorite exhibits on these stately grounds built by the WPA in the Art Deco style. The World's largest pair of Levi's was certainly worth the price of admission and something one could only view without feeling silly in a State Fair environment.
I'm always on the look-out for oddities at State Fairs, which only such an event can provide, and the Maryland State Fair was not exception to this rule.
In the petting zoo area, they had placards hanging above each animal to help the children identify the animal in each pen. There was "Pig", "Goat", "Sheep", "Duck" and then there was....."Beef."
Along the same lines, the other oddity that caught my eye was, when walking through the 4-H animal barns, some of the more ambitious presenters had posted wonderful recipes accompanied by pictures of that gourmet meal on thier pens, letting us know what we could make this live animal into......"Curried Pork Casserole."
All of this reminded me that there is nothing quite like a State Fair to bring you back to earth on how rural life can be. As an urbanite, it reminds me that the grass can be greener on the other side and life continues as always in a less expedient world than I am used to. What a relief!!
It's time for some Eartha Kitt to bring me back to reality.
Toodles,
Steve
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